Of Hatred & Regret
by PjoHoOKCTHG
Summary: <html><head></head>Annabeth despises Percy. He pushed her out of his life with no explanation, and leaves her to go through things that no one should ever experience. Now, five years later, what will happen when they're pushed together again at Goode. How will they work together when she hates him and he's regretful about the past? AU might be OOC</html>
1. Chapter 1

Of Hatred & Regrets

AN: Hey guys! So this is actually my first fanfiction, and I'm kinda nervous/excited to post this because I don't know if it's any good. So yeah. But review even if you don't like it, I need the constructive criticizm.

**Annabeth's POV:**

"I hate you Jackson! I hate you with every power of my being!" And those were the famous words that made my day go from acceptable, to rotten in less than a minute. Percy Jackson was the death of me. He'd made my life a living hell since 6th grade and since then, he's proceeded to make every person who I care about almost as miserable as me. Emphasis on the almost. On this day of September 2nd – merely a week after our sophomore school year began- he'd taken it upon himself to dump one of my best friends infront of the entire school. I don't blame him for dumping her, because if I'm being honest, Piper's not easy to handle. It wasn't like he just went out with her for a week and then let her go. They'd been dating for a couple months now. I understand the dumping, if you don't like someone then you shouldn't feel obligated to stay with them. No, the reason I was upset was because he made it a point to publicly dump her. He could've done it in private, but noooooo he just HAD to completely humiliate her infront of everyone. " Geez Bethy would you chill? It was a joke." He looked at me with a satisfied smirk and I wanted nothing more than to slap it off his face. " So now my best friend is a joke? How could you do that? I understand the dumping, but did you really have to publicize it? You're a low-ass bastard. I hate you and so does Pipes. I hope you're pleased with yourself." This has been the first time I've talked to this arrogant fool since the seventh grade, after he told everyone I had a computer hardwired into my brain and everyone decided to start bullying me all at once. And to be honest, that didn't work out well for me. " Well you're a cold-hearted bitch Bethy! And to answer your question, I am pleased with myself. The only thing she ever talked about through our whole relationship was you, and let me tell you I'd rather let my ears bleed than hear about you every second of every day." He sat down on the shiny red motorcycle I currently stood infront of. I could just imagine the bewildered look on my face. He smiled at me and I instantly felt revulsion. " That's the cold hard truth, sorry if it hurts, but I'm not gonna stick around to find out if it does or not." Then he sped out of the Goode High parking lot helmetless. And that was why I ended up sulking the rest of my day.

Five hours later*

"Piper, I get it.. Really I do…" I uttered into the phone for the upteenth time. I was currently stuffing cheesy puffcorn into my mouth as I tried to comfort Piper over the phone. "B-But you don't… He broke my heart…. Shattered my soul…." " I went through the same thing Pipes…" I heard her pause. " What?"

_I could still feel the wet sand resting on my head. My gray eyes were rapidly clouding with tears even though I had begged them not to. His face showed no remorse. I tried to meet his gaze but he just averted mine. "Percy?" He still stood there motionless. " Go. Away. I don't want you. I don't need you. You're nothing to me. All you know how to do is show people up and read books. I hate you. Go away." I sat there flabbergasted. He finally met my gaze and I felt a bit of hope, but then his face hardened. " I said go away! You mean nothing! You are nothing!" I got up and ran away from the sandbox I had been playing in and hid behind the playslide in the playground. I left behind the bucket of sand, and I left behind Percy_. And that kids, is the day little Jackson abandoned me. Not even today have I figured out his motive for leaving me. Correction, his motive for pushing me out of his life. That was 5th grade. That was a time where Percy and I were inseparable. He was my best friend. "Annabeth?" I came back to reality. " Huh?" " You dated Percy?" She sounded even more upset than she originally was. " What? No. Nevermind. You're right I don't understand. Sorry." And after that, I spent the rest of my night listening to my bestfriend drone on about how horrible my ex-bestfriend was.

For the next two weeks, it felt like the whole school was a broken record. " Pipecy broke up!", or " He dumped her hard!" could be heard all throughout the school. I personally thought life couldn't get worse. But of course, I had to jinx myself… Mrs. Treble was a youthful woman, with a fair complexion, a nose piercing, and chestnut locks that fell down her back. And she was, without a doubt, my favorite teacher ever. She ran a spot in the Fine Arts department. Musical theater to be exact. And I just couldn't wait to know if I made a spot in this year's musical. This year, we were doing _Thoroughly Modern Millie_, a Broadway musicalabout a young girl name Millie Dillmount who comes to New York in 1922 in pursue of marriage, not for love, but for money. I had tried out for many roles, but knowing how many others tried out, I wasn't that confident in getting a spot. I was snapped out of my overthinking when Mrs. Treble began speaking. " Okay guys! I know you've all been waiting patiently to know the casting results for this year's musical. I will only announce the female and male leads during class, but the entire cast list will be posted outside my room, today after school. Can I get a drum roll please?" All that could be heard through the room was hands slapping thighs rapidly. " And the lead who's been cast as Millie is….. Beth!" The whole class turned quiet while I facepalmed. Beth? She hated theater, she only took it as a blowoff class! Beth Delores slowly raised her hand. " Yes Beth?" " Um…. I didn't even try out for the musical…" Mrs. Treble furrowed her eyebrows. "Annabeth Chase?" I looked up. " Yes?" " What do you mean yes? You're playing Millie. I called you Beth." I could feel my hope building. " Come again?" " You're playing Millie Dillmount, Mrs. Chase…" The class stayed quiet, then errupted with cheers as I sat there shocked. " Okay, okay quiet down. And our lead who's been cast as Jimmy will be played by… What is this name? Peter Johnson?" " There's no Peter in this class!" someone shouted from the back. " There's no Peter in this school.." I muttered. " Mr. D must've typo-ed this. That man needs to get his shit together. I believe he meant, Percy Jackson." I had currently been chewing on a bagle, but when I heard his name I spit it out and watched it tumble to the ground. " Is he even in this class?" I asked getting panicked. " Present, Bethy." A voice came from the back. I whipped around so fast I almost broke my neck. And there he was in all his idiotic glory, leaning against the back wall. His messy hair fell into his sea green eyes, and the smirk he had on his face made me want to run for the hills. " You're Jimmy?" He chuckled. " I have a arts inclination, sweetheart." I ignored his comment. " Have you ever seen this musical before?" " Long enough to know what you're so worried about, sweetheart." He said mischievously. Then he began walking out of the classroom, but then stopped and looked at me. " I hope you enjoy it, _Millie._" And then he left. The bell rung and I grabbed my stuff and left. I was furious. He has to ruin every little thing for me! I get the lead in one of my favorite musicals, but I have to lock lips with my enemy. That's right. Jimmy and Millie end up together by the end of the musical. They kiss multiple times. Not just once. I don't even want to think about this. We'll be selling tickets for this musical for a week. A full week. That's seven _days _I have to kiss him. And that's not counting the final rehearsals. Ugh. I didn't even know he was in that class. I tugged a strand of my pin straight blonde hair out of frustration, then began playing with it as I walked out of the building. " Nervous?" I whipped around for the second time that day. Then I smiled. " Zachary!" He chuckled. " Don't avoid the question. Ah Zach. How could I not love him? He's the one who helped me pick up the pieces after Percy broke me. He was my best friend, he'd been through everything with me since 6th. I couldn't ask for a better person to like. That's right. I liked him. Loved him, actually. Those deep blue eyes that seemed to pull you in. The sandy brown hair with the freckles to match. He was the perfect guy. " I'm not I swear." I said beaming. He smiled at me as we walked under a tree and proceeded to sit down. It was our off period and we always spent it with Thalia, Piper, Rachel, and some of the guys, but it felt great to just be with him for a change. " So spill." I looked up at him while I played with my hair. He examined it then looked back at me with disappointment. " It's not that I'm nervous.." I started before he could lecture me about my hair. " Then what is it?" " I'm just… frustrated." He looked at me as if asking me to continue. " I got the lead in the school musical. But so did Jackson. And we have to kiss during the musical. And I've just worked so hard for this and I feel like he's wrecking it for me." I knew I was rambling, but I couldn't stop myself. " Jackson? Like Percy?" He asked forcefully. He knew everything that Percy put me through. All the tears, blood, humiliation. " Yes. That Jackson." He stayed silent for a minute. " Well, I'm glad that you got the lead in the musical. But I get why you're frustrated. I know it's difficult, but just don't let him get to you. Think about like having to kiss someone you really like. I bet you won't even feel it." _So think about kissing you, _I thought. " Speak of the devil." He muttered. I turned around to see Percy walking out of the main doors of Goode. He caught Zachary's eye and his face automatically twisted. He then turned around and walked the other way. " What the hell is his problem?" I asked aloud. " He can't live with the guilt of what he did to you." I heard Zach say. " Zachary, I know that he put me through a lot, and really I do hate him, but he's not responsible for the actions I took. The feeling yes, but the actions were my fault." I said quietly. He stared at me and I instantly knew he was going to explode. " You're defending him? After everything he did to you? Annabeth, how can you say he's not responsible for what he did to you?! How could you just-" " Because he didn't do it to me, I did it to myself Zachary! You and I both know what happened that night." I said almost crying at the memory of those dark times. " He's responsible Annie." " Zachary. I did it to myself. He didn't hurt me. Verbally, yes, I can't deny that he did. And maybe that did make me feel like I had to do the things that I did. But I had a choice. I chose wrong. And even though I despise him, I'm not going to say he did that to me because he didn't." He stared at me for what seemed like hours. Then, he simply walked away. I quickly grabbed my bags and rushed down the hallway to my Psychology class. _**CRASH. **_" OH FOR THE LOVE OF ZEUS, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE- …. Annabeth?" I looked up at her electrifying blue eyes and was filled with relief. " Thalia! Hey. Sorry." She stared at me like I had grown a third head. " What's wrong? You look so pale…. Oh Gods, don't tell me you're pregnant. Oh Gods, I-" " Thals I'm not pregnant…I'm just a little…. Under the weather today. Don't worry, okay?" She stared at me. " Annabeth if you're pregnant…." " Thalia! I'm not! Let's go we need to get to Physocology." I grabbed her leather covered arm and dragged her away.

" Physcology! Fun! Who's excited?" Ah, Mrs. Raylen. She was the peppiest teacher I'd ever met. The whole class stayed quiet. "…Welp. You should be! Because guess what's happening today?" Crickets. " …You're getting a project!" Cue the groaning. " This project will revolve around you and your assigned partner getting to know each other. This is actually going to be a year round project, meaning it'll take the whole year. The good news is, that there will never be homework assigned to you for the remainder of this school year in my class." The class erupted in cheers. " The bad news is that this project will be graded very heavily, and if you don't do a good job, you WILL fail this class." Groans. So many groans. " This project requires you and your partner to spend time together so you can learn about each other. It is a GIVEN. I need to know every thing about your partner. At the end of the year, you will writ page essay about your partner. In this essay, you will include not only their strengths, but also their weaknesses and flaws. I also need to know how your relationship with your partner has either began to build, or worsen throughout the project." That didn't make any sense to me. Why would somebody's relationship worsen over a project? " I've been analyzing all of you, so you'll be paired with someone who you probably won't like. Just a warning. This project will be due the Wednesday of the last week of school. With that said, I'll start reading off partner pairings." I was fairly confident that I would get a decent partner. I didn't really dislike anybody in this class, and I didn't believe anyone disliked me. " Thalia and Luke." Oooh Thalia would kill him. " Katie and Travis, Clarisse and Silena, Gwen and Steven, Lacy and Ethan, Leo and Callie, Reyna and Nico…" The list continued until it reached my name. " Annabeth and Beth." Eh. She was okay. I liked her enough to collaborate on a project with her. " Sorry Beth, my mistake your partner is actually Jaylen. Annabeth, you'll be with Mr. Jackson over there." My heart stopped. It couldn't be… " Mr. Jackson?" I questioned hoping it wasn't him. Then a voice came from beside me. " Sorry to burst your bubble sweetheart."


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Hatred & Regret**

**Chapter 2: Thanks for the reviews! I'm gonna try to not mash everything together. And one of the reviewers asked so I'll answer: Percy broke up with Piper not Annabeth. Sorry if there was confusion. BTW I know this chapter is kind of short, but I have too much stuff on my plate right now to write a longish one. I did have a long one in mind, but I just can't right now. **

" Mrs. Raylen, there has to be something we can work out. I'm begging for mercy, please please please don't do this to me." I sounded like a whining five-year-old arguing over a candy bar at the grocery store. " Mrs. Chase, my choice has been made. is your partner. That's final." "You don't understand, I can't spend a year with him! Please Mrs.-" " ! I don't have time or patience to listen to you right now. My decision is final. Now excuse me while I tell the rest of this ignorant class that."

It was official. Mrs. Raylen, one of the nicest teachers in the school, had finally cracked. I saw it coming, but I didn't think it'd be this early into the school year. She had always been a tolerant teacher. She always had a smile plastered on her face, always had motivational quotes written up in the board, always started the class with her daily encouragement speech. But the thing is, a teacher like her doesn't belong at Goode. It's just like how a shy girl would feel out of place in a club. Mrs. Raylen never yelled at her classes. But here I was, standing in a corner, banging my head on the wall out of frustration, watching Mrs. Raylen yell at our class. She said we were ungrateful little brats and that there was no way in all of _Hades_ that she would waste all the time she had rescheduling our partners. She said we need to grow a _pair_ and get over it. I'm pretty sure everyone was shocked at her sudden outburst. I'm also pretty sure that someone would tell a figure of authority that she had said so many "vulgar" words to her class. But the thing I'm most positive about is that she wouldn't get in trouble because the faculty all know Mrs. Raylen to be such a patient and loving teacher. And who do you think they trust more, rebelling teenagers or one of their best and most trusted teachers?

I checked my watch. There was still 40 minutes of class left in this period. I looked back at the class from the wall I was standing by. Thalia looked about ready to start a riot against Mrs. Raylen. I could practically already see her screaming at random students to light their torches and sharpen their pitchforks. Mrs. Raylen was still spilling out certain choice words, and truly, I felt bad for her. She was trapped. The mountain of students around her looked insurmountable, and she really did seem helpless even if she _was_ cursing at them.

I quickly exited the classroom before I could watch the situation get worse. I head towards the water fountain. Really, I didn't need water. I thought if I drank anymore, I might just pee on the floor. But it was the only thing I could think of doing to distract myself from him. I just couldn't believe I have to spend my whole year with him. He made my skin crawl and whenever I saw him, I couldn't help but glare. 

" So… When should I tell my roommate that I need the dorm for myself? You know, for the project." I could practically see him smirking already. I lifted my head from the fountain and glared at him. " Hmmm… How about never? If we absolutely need to work on this together, it'll be in an open area where I can have witnesses incase I need to file a police report against you." I grinned victoriously. His smirk fell from his face and was replaced with a deep frown. "Seriously Annabeth. When do you want to start getting together for this project?" " I'd rather not." I began walking away, but he quickly grabbed my arm and stared down at me with those eyes that just made you wanna melt. Or in my case curl up in a ball out of horror. I couldn't stand anything about him. " Annabeth, I don't like this anymore than you do. But there's nothing we can do about it. Stop pouting and grow up because I'm not about to fail this stupid project because you didn't want to work with me." I was shocked. Usually, I would be the one telling him to grow up. But now everything's reversed. And the fact that maybe, just maybe he was right, angered me. I was so angry I couldn't even begin to explain. " I need to grow up? Says the person who bullies others to make themselves feel better! Get over yourself Jackson." " Oh, please. You are blowing this way out of proportion. I don't bully people." " You bullied me everyday!' " That was harmless teasing! But your panties were in such a twist that you didn't even realize it! God, do you have a stick up your butt?" " Harmless teasing made me wanna cry myself to sleep? Fuck you Jackson! You don't know what you did to me!"

He stood there silently, choosing his next words. " You're right. I don't know what I did to you. But I know what Zachary's going to do to you." I looked up from the floor and stared at him. Zachary? " Why are we talking about Zachary?!" He looked troubled, like he was keeping back something that he knew he shouldn't. " Annabeth, he's going to hurt you. Guys like him only want girls so they can get in their pants and leave them on the curb." I couldn't believe this. My hate for him radiated off me. I knew that he knew that. " I know Zach better than anyone. Zach's always been there for me. Zach picked up the pieces when _you_ abandoned me. When _you _left me on the curb. And really, I find it funny that you say that because isn't that what you did with Piper?" There it was. We had never talked about it. Never brought it up. We never talked about our old friendship. To me, he was just the guy that I despised. But we both knew he wasn't. We both knew we had history together. " Annabeth, I-" " Just shut up, Jackson. You were my best friend. I counted on you. And you left me when I was just in fifth grade. Can you imagine not having a best friend? You _made_ me the outcast. But Zachary… He's different. He would never do something like that to me. He's better than that." " Annabeth, you don't know him. He's using you." I shot daggers his way. " Don't you tell me I don't know him when I do. I know him better than anyone. And why do you care anyway? Stop pretending that you worry about me. I know the truth and so do you." I spat at him. And it felt great. I loved being able to get everything out of the way. I grabbed my bags from the floor and started walking to my next class, but then stopped. " And I'm free on Saturday. We'll start working then." I didn't wait for a response.


	3. Chapter 3

**Of Hatred & Regret**

**Chapter 3: **

" I swear she has a death wish. Luke Castellan? I can't stand that little noob." I rolled my eyes as I stuck a spoonful of pumpkin spice ice cream in my mouth. Thalia had been ranting to me for the past hour about how she now _despised _Mrs. Raylen and she wanted nothing more than to and I quote, _"throw her into a thunderstorm and laugh_ _as she got stuck by lightning"_.

Thalia grabbed a snickers bar from the mini fridge in our dorm and quickly began undressing it. I stared at her and she caught my eye. "What?" She seemed confused to why I was gawking at her, but I thought it was blatantly obvious. " You've always had an irrational hate for snickers bars. You've never even tried them. Why now?" She looked uneasy as if realizing something that she hadn't ever considered before tonight. " I think I'-"

**KNOCK KNOCK.** Thalia's voice was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the door. I expected to see Rachel at the doorway but was instead greeted by deep blue eyes filled with concern and regret. 'Beth' was the only word that escaped his lips before I was engulfed in what most people would call a hug. "I'm sorry Annabeth. I was just worried about you. I didn't want it to happen again. I didn't even want to think about it and I was being petty I-". " It's okay." My voice was barely above a whisper. " It's not. I never want to lose you again Beth. That's why I got worked up. The thought of losing you is too much to bare. But I won't. I will never lose you." Zachary's eyes were filled with so much passion and it truly shocked me to see this.

Before I knew what was happening his lips were pressed upon mine. But it felt like nothing. I felt nothing at all. But I was blinded by confusion so that could easily be explained. I was left out of breath by the time he let me go and I almost forgot Thalia was in the room until I heard her clear her throat in a loud manner. Zachary seemed to blush and back away from me.

" Hey, Thalia. Didn't know you were sleeping over at Bethy's tonight." She smirked as she continued to chew on her snickers bar " Well we're waiting for Rachel and Piper but I think they're running late. But I guess it's not such a bad thing that you ruined our girl's night.. Is it _Bethy_?" I knew she was mocking me, but I was too headstrong to back down from a challenge. " It certainly isn't _Thaly_." Her eyes stared at me with so much fire I almost cringed. " Well… I'll talk to you later Beth- I mean Annabeth. We have lots to talk about." I beamed at him and nodded before he exited.

My mind still hadn't wrapped around the fact that that Zachary kissed. I was on cloud nine. I fell backwards dramatically onto the sofa in the dorm and smiled up at the ceiling. "Welp. That certainly happened. Now where in all of hades are Pipes and Red?" I looked up at her. I had completely forgotten about them. I knew Thalia had mentioned atleast three times, but with the whole Percy thing clouding my mind and then Zachary's kiss, I had completely overlooked the fact that they were about an hour late to our girl's night. " Maybe we should call one of them?" Thalia seemed genuinely concerned for our friends and I was going to start getting panicked if they didn't show up soon. They _never_ missed a sleepover.

**Piper's POV**

I sat in my dorm bed with my head between my knees. My brown her curtained my face. The running water from the bathroom could be faintly heard, as Rachel was taking a shower before we headed over to Annabeth and Thalia's dorm. But that didn't matter to me. Was I as worthless as people thought I was? Usually I wouldn't be this emotional. I'd be strong willed like I normally am. But Percy broke me beyond repair, and even though it'd been weeks, my tormenting hadn't stopped. Cyberbullying had started maybe a week after we split. People made up rumors almost instantly. They said that he dumped me because I was pregnant with another man's child. That led to countless name-calling. That led to someone saying that my future career would be working as a prostitute. And that led to tonight's attack. Apparently someone photoshopped my face on a naked girl's body. It looked so convincible that people really thought it was me. And I didn't want this anymore. I knew this wasn't Percy's fault. All he did was dump me, he didn't start any rumors. And now where was I? Lamenting myself? Sitting in my room crying while my roommate was unaware of what was happening? I didn't know if my sobs could be heard through the bathroom door, but I didn't care. I wanted to cry until I couldn't anymore. I wanted to hurt, I wanted to leave this horrible place and never come back. Suddenly, I heard the bathroom door open and even though I shouldn't have, I looked up. Rachel came out in a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt. She threw her towel on her bed, and then her eyes landed on my tear stained face. "Piper!" She ran over to me in a hurry and I could just imagine what I looked like. Bloodshot eyes, wild hair, and my body shaking. " Piper, what's wrong?" But I said nothing. I didn't want to think. I didn't want to know anything. She slowly picked up my PC and stared at the picture that ruined my night. I watched as her eyes widened, and she began scrolling down the page to look at the horrible comments people were currently making about me. Then she slammed the screen shut. I looked up at her as she sat in front of me and stared at me straight in the eyes. " Piper. These people are harassing you. We need to turn them in as soon as possible." I sobbed. " Rachel, did you see what they said about me?" She grabbed the laptop again and opened it, then proceeded to snap pictures of the comments and the picture on the website. " I see it Piper. But is it true? Of course it's not. These people want to make others miserable so they can feel better about themselves. And that's a horrible way to live. To torment someone for fun." She reached over and wiped the tears off my face slowly, as if scared of hurting me. I stayed silent. " Piper, do you really believe all these things?" " I don't know anymore. Am I a horrible person? Do I deserve to be called a whore and a slut? What's wrong with me?" I could feel my eyes starting to cloud with tears again. " You're one of my closest friends, Piper. I know the real you. You're a great person. You're the best person in the world." She got up and sat next to me on the bed. " You're not any of the things they called you, and you never will be. You're a hell of a person Piper." I smiled. " Really?" She nodded staring at me with her intense green eyes. " You're intelligent, sweet, kind to everyone, caring, thoughtful. The list can go on forever, you should know that." She was trying to comfort me I knew she was, but her eyes suddenly turned dark and she looked like she was about to kill someone. " I just can't believe someone would do this to you. You've never done anything to anyone. You don't deserve to be treated like this, Piper! You're so nice to everyone! I hate that they're hurting you when you're such an incredible person." I stared at her caught up in her words. " You think I'm incredible?" I could've sworn I saw her blush, but if she did, she covered up well. " I thought I made that clear Pipes. You're the best person I know. No one deserves to be treated that way, and especially not you. Yes, I think you're incredible." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it sent chills down my arms. " I…Thank you, Rachel. For caring so much about me. And for being her when I needed you." She smiled softly. " I'll always be here for you. I will never stop caring. Okay? You're too important." She whispered as she tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. We were in close proximity of each other and I could feel her hot breath on my cheek as her wet hair touched my arm. And even though I knew that it was impossible for me to feel something for Rachel… maybe it really wasn't. Our foreheads met and I couldn't help but stare at her. She was perfect in every way, but instead of staring at herself in the mirror like most girls would, she was sitting here telling me that _I_ was important to her. " Rachel I-" But I couldn't finish my sentence because of her lips covering mine. And it was perfect. Her lips tasted like Starbucks and were the softest thing in the world. And it was better than any other kiss I ever had. It was perfectly blissful. But then she pulled away quickly and averted my gaze. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. " I am so sorry, Piper. I should've known you wouldn't return my feelings, I mean it's obvious you don't have an interest in girls. I just… I couldn't help myself, I've liked you for so long and you were so close. I can't believe I just did that to you." She seemed ashamed of herself and wouldn't meet my eyes. " I just took advantage of you. And I'm sorry. Please, please don't be freaked out by me, I don't want to lose you as a friend, I'm s-" I quickly cut her off with a kiss. I smiled. "It's okay. I'll forgive you if you do it again?" She looked shocked at first but then laughed and met my lips. And I loved every second of it. I ran my hands up her pale freckled arms and she pulled away a bit. " Piper, if you need me to stop I will." She whispered softly. "Please don't." She smiled then kissed me again. I felt her lie on top of me and I ran my fingers through her wet hair. I felt myself being consumed, but I didn't care. I loved this moment, it was perfect in every single way. Except for the fact that my phone rang two seconds later. I groaned. " Why now?" I grabbed my phone and clicked the answer button. "Yes?" **"Piper! Where the hades are you and Rachel? Me and Thalia were starting to get worried." **Ah, fuck. " Oh, yeah. Sorry, it's just Red here was taking her sweet old time getting ready for this girl's night. I promise we'll be over soon?" Rachel perked up at the mention of her name. **" Alright, but you better hurry."** Then I heard her mutter,**" Geez how long does it take to get ready?" **Then she hung up. " What's going on?" Rachel asked, playing with my hair. I smiled a bit. " We're an hour late to the girl's night." " Oh yeah! That's tonight. I forgot." She smiled at me, then got up. I whined. "But Rachel, you just confessed your undying love to me, can't we just not go today?" She smirked. "There'll be time for that later, Piper." And with that she grabbed a pillow pet and threw it at me, making me get up to go to girl's night.

**AN: Well... that happened. Don't be mad if you don't like this ship, but I'm kind of tired of reading stories that are all Jasiper. I kinda wanted a twist in this story. I really hope you guys like it. Review for me? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**Chapter 4: **

Annabeth's POV

"Finally! Where the hades were you guys?" Thalia seemed half pissed and half concerned, but I didn't comment. Rachel's face turned crimson and she looked at her feet. I stared at her in confusion trying to meet her eyes, but she seemed intent on doing exactly the opposite. " Uh you know, just… Gossiping."

Piper looked anxious and I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that they were both hiding something. Apparently, Thalia caught on too because her eyes narrowed and she slowly walked over to Piper and draped her arm around her shoulder. " And may I ask why you didn't come over here if you wanted to gossip? Was the topic too sensitive for our _innocent_ ears? Because let me tell you right now Piper, if you're talking trash about me and Annabeth behind our backs I swear to all the gods that I'll-"

" We were talking about Jason!" She blurted. I stared at her incredulously. Thalia looked at her, obviously surprised. " _Jason?_ As in my _brother_ Jason?" " Um yeah. I was telling Red that I kind of have a crush on him?" Rachel looked so hurt and shocked at Piper's declaration, and my curiosity was getting the better of me. " You like my brother?" " You like Jason?" I sat back and watched the conflict unfold. Piper's eyes darted to Rachel's with a pleading look. She seemed to be begging for mercy. " Are you mad at me?" She asked to no one in particular.

Thalia's head seemed like it was about to explode and she angrily walked over to fridge and grabbed another snicker's bar. " I'm mad. Not at you, I can't really be angry at you. It's your choice if you wanna go after that lunatic." Thalia finally stated throwing herself on the couch. Rachel bit her lip anxiously and sat down on the bed. Piper tried to meet her eyes but, as she did to me, she averted her gaze. I cleared my throat loudly and their eyes flew to me. " So… What would you guys like to do first?" I was trying to break the tension but no one seemed intent on doing so. Silence. Complete and utter silence.

" How about we just watch movies tonight?" Rachel finally stated. And so we spent the rest of the night watching _Mean Girls, She's The Man, _and_ High School Musical_. Overall, it was the most awkward girl's night in history.

* * *

><p>I stared at myself in the mirror as I bit my lip. Jeans, a t-shirt, and my hair in a messy bun. Was I trying too hard? Zachary had asked to meet with me at a coffee shop on campus and I was as never as I could get. "You look fine, <em>Bethy<em>." I could already see the smirk on Thalia's face. "But you would look even better if you fixed your hair." I whipped around and looked at my hair. " What's wrong with it?" She rolled her eyes at me. " It's not curly. It's not natural. It's not Annabeth." She stated simply. My face fell. " You know, a lot of people like my hair this way." " Well those people would like it better if you left it the way it was made in the first place! And if they don't, then they don't appreciate your true beauty." I huffed. " I gotta go meet Zachary. I'll see you later tonight. Bye Thals."

I began my walk over to the coffee shop when I spotted Zach. He looked as adorable as ever and I couldn't help but smile to myself. He had _kissed _me last night. He met my gaze and smiled before he changed his path and walked over to me. " Annabeth." "Hey." I beamed at him as we walked inside and sat in a table in the corner. We stared at each other for a minute before he broke the silence. " I'm not gonna beat around the bush with you Bethy. I really like you. Love you even. And that kiss last night was amazing. At least to me it was. Was it amazing to you?"

No. " Of course it was, Zach." I was lying through my teeth. I didn't feel anything, but when that happened I was shocked. That's what I told myself. He smiled. " I knew it wasn't just me. So… Annabeth, what do you want to be?" " What do you mean?" He looked down for a second. " What are we? What do you want to be? Do you want to be a couple?" I was so shocked. He seemed _nervous_ to be asking me. " Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" He slowly brought something from his back and placed it on the table. I stared down at the velvety box infront of me and opened it curiously. And then I covered my mouth with my hand. " Oh, Zach. It's.. Beautiful." I stared down at the silver nameplate that said _Annabeth_. " Just like you are, Bethy. So what do you say? Will you be my girl?"

I nodded slowly and watched him smile as he placed the necklace around my neck. He checked his phone. "What are you doing?" He looked up at me. "Just clarifying that on this day, at exactly 5:45 P.M Annabeth Chase became my official girlfriend." I smiled and blushed, and I just felt everything at the same time. But then a sudden realization hit me. " Did you say 5:45 P.M?"

He looked confused but nodded. "Oh shit. I need to go Zach." I got up and started for the door in a hurry. " Wait, Annabeth where are you going?" I turned to look at him. " I have a project with Jackson. I was supposed to be there at 5. I completely forgot about it. I have to go." I gave him a quick kiss before starting my walk across campus.

* * *

><p>"Well, it's about time you got here, sweetheart." I could already feel the frown forming on my face as he greeted me with his signature smirk. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a conflicting schedule." I was trying to be respectful. If we were going to get through this project, we would both have to get over ourselves. I entered his surprisingly clean dorm and looked around as he proceeded to shut the door behind him. "It's okay. You don't have to lie. Honestly, I forgot about this project thing today too." I almost smiled. Almost. " You can sit anywhere."<p>

I looked around feeling uncomfortable and decided on what appeared to be his roommate's bed. " Do you want anything to drink?" " No, thanks. I just got coffee." That was a lie. I actually didn't even get time to order coffee. But this wasn't right. We were supposed to fight and bicker, not ask each other if we wanted drinks or if we were comfortable. I knew that he felt like that too. He sat down on the edge of the bed a good distance from me. "So… Do you still suck at swordplay?"

I quickly looked up at him with my eyebrows knit. " Excuse me?" He slowly smirked. "Do you still suck at swordplay?" He repeated. _Swordplay?_ I looked at him and he almost laughed. "Tell me you did not forget Camp Half-Blood." He laughed as he watched my eyes widen. Ah, Camp Half-Blood. I remember going to that camp when I was young. Camp Half-Blood was a mythology camp, a camp for kids who had a deep interest in Greek mythology, the gods, and their way of living. It was surprisingly successful, and all our group of friends grew close at that camp. We did activities including swordplay, which is what Percy was referring to.

I averted his question. "I did not suck at swordplay!" He chuckled deeply, which caused goosebumps to materialize on my arms. " Please, every time we went up against each other I would pummel you. You sucked." I scoffed at his ignorance. "If I remember correctly, and I do, it was actually the other way around. Every time we fought you'd go and whine to Grover about how you got beat by a girl." I could've sworn I saw him turn red for a second, but if it happened at all, he did a good job of hiding it. "That's absurd. Please what do you know?" " Excuse me, was I not ranked a Daughter of Athena? I know everything. My 'mother' is the goddess of wisdom thank you very much." Chiron, our camp director, chose Rankings. Basically we filled out a survey, and after observing us for a couple days, we would be assigned a God or Goddess as a parent according to our personality traits. " Whatever." He let out a breath.

"Iguessyou'renotahorribleatswordplay" I turned my head to be able to see him. He was sitting criss-cross on his roommate's bed while I was sprawled out lying with my stomach up. "What did you say?" He looked like he was about to explode and I couldn't help but smile at the fact that my enemy was uncomfortable. " .You' -" "Well speed it up, kelp-for-brains." "I guess you're not horrible at swordplay." I smiled victoriously. "Did Mr. Jackson just give me a… compliment?" "In your dreams oh-so-wise-one." "Seaweed brain. "Wise girl." " And that's supposed to be an insult?" "If you were really wise you wouldn't have to ask." "If you were really stupid you wouldn't have said that…. Oh wait… You did." I smirked successfully. He stood up angrily and headed towards his bed as I followed him towards it. I lied down as he grabbed his laptop and started typing something down.

" What are you doing?" "Starting the project in an…._interesting_ way. 'Annabeth Chase. She's excellent at swordplay. But also an annoying little thorn in my side. She's arrogant and a fool and she thinks she knows everything.'" Even though I knew that it should've bothered me, I realized he was just joking and I honestly didn't mind. I snatched the laptop from him. He looked down at me surprised at my sudden action. "Mr. Jackson. He's an amazing swimmer. But also a conceded butthole, and a stupidhead. And in the inside, he's a big softy." I smiled at my work as I readjusted myself to be sitting next to him. "A big softy?" "Perce, I was there when that new kid Octavian came and cut off Blackjack's head. You cried so much, you almost dehydrated."

Blackjack was Percy's stuffed pegasus toy. He'd had it since he was three, and he was completely and utterly in love with that stuffed animal. I thought, he would've been mad that I brought that up. But instead he stared at me as if realizing something new. " What?" I met his eyes confused. " You called me Perce." I stayed silent for a second, and I was biting my lip so hard I could almost taste blood. "You never call me by my name. You always say Jackson. But you did. Annabeth, why don't you call me by my name?" Why had I called him Perce? Why had my tounge disobeyed my mind?

" Because. It brings back things. Things I don't want to remember, okay?" He turned in the bed to face me. "You mean like my bullying?" I stayed silent. " Annabeth, why is your hair straight?" I made a face. " Because this is the way I fit in, okay? In 7th grade, your stupid little girlfriend, Lacy, made fun of my hair. She said it looked like I belonged in a circus. She said it was abnormal. And being a seventh grader already raised my insecurities. So I changed myself. I made myself fit in. My hair hasn't been curly in three years. And it never will be again. Ever. Because I'm not gonna be a laughingstock again." But he wasn't paying attention to my words. He was staring at something on the bed. I didn't want to look down, but I did. And I cringed. He grabbed my arm.

"Annabeth… What is this?" I struggled against his grip, but finally gave up after no avail. He ran his fingers over the jagged scars covering my arm and moved his way down towards the thickest one on my wrist. I stayed silent. " Annabeth. Did you do this to yourself." I bit my lip silently and averted his eyes. "Annabeth. Did I do this. Did I make you do this. Did I really bully you this much." He waited for me to say something, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. "Annabeth talk to me." I pulled my arm away fighting the tears forming in my eyes. "Yes." It was barely above a whisper. It was almost inaudible. But then I couldn't stop myself from spitting every hateful word I could think.

"Yes. You bullied me this much. You made me want to kill myself. You made me want to chug all my ADHD pills at once and be done. You made me want to die and never come back and be done with life forever. You made me want to leave everything behind and let go of the world and runaway until there was nothing I could see behind me. You made me hate myself. Every single day I would beg and wish that I could die. That maybe one day I would cut too deep and hit a vein and let my life be over. Or that maybe I could actually muster up the courage to finally make a noose and finish it all. Every. Single. Day. And then in 8th grade, when the bullying finally became too much to bare, I finally gave up.

"I finally tried. And I did. I chugged my ADHD pills. And when I woke up in the ICU with an IV in my arm, I was told that I wouldn't be going back to school for at least two months. Thalia, and Rachel, and everyone who cared was there. And even though I hated you at that point, I still waited. I waited for the guy who made me suicidal to show up and walk over to my hospital bed and hug me and say that he cared about me and was sorry. But he didn't. You didn't. I still remember my mother's face. She seemed cold inside. And when I saw my own reflection in the bathroom I realized I did too. I was pale and weak and helpless. And from there I went to a behavioral hospital. I was in inpatient for two weeks. It was the same routine every single day. Eat, therapy, eat, therapy, eat, therapy, light's out. And then, when I thought it was all over, I went to outpatient. Five weeks later I was discharged. So yes. In a way, you did this all to me."

And at that point, the whole world was silent for who knows how long. But then it was gone. And those beautiful words I'd wanted to hear for so long came tumbling out of his mouth. " I'm sorry." I sobbed and buried my face in my hands and it was all that I could do to stop myself from shouting and screaming. But he kept going and he didn't seem intent on stopping any time soon. "I'm sorry and I know that's not enough and that it never will be. I'm sorry that I let in to peer pressure and let you go. I'm sorry that I ever hurt you so much that I made you think there was only one way out. I'm sorry that I made you think that I never cared about you. And I'm just sorry. And I will never be done saying sorry to you. I'm sorry for ever meeting you. If we hadn't, you would be happy, you would be yourself. I'm sorry. I'm just sorry. I care about you. I do. And I know it doesn't seem like that. But just because we aren't friends doesn't mean I don't. And I'm just really really sorry Annabeth. But I know that probably means nothing to you. I'm sorry."

And then he grabbed me and hugged me. And I didn't even try to pull away. I just accepted his embrace. I thought I heard a small click somewhere but I ignored it. I knew that his shirt was getting wet but frankly I didn't care. I was hugging my once-upon-a-time best friend and it felt great. To hear those words that I'd longed for so long. I don't know how long we sat there. But I do know that it was great. But eventually I pulled away. "I'm sorry. But I don't think that Zachary would appreciate his girlfriend being in the arms of another man. And I have to get home." His face showed no emotion. "Girlfriend?" I nodded. "He asked me out today." He said nothing. "Well I have to go. Thalia's waiting for me at the dorm." I headed towards the door grabbing my bag on the way. " Wait. Annabeth." I turned. " I know I don't deserve it. But will you ever forgive me?" I stood there for what seemed like forever. "I'll think about it." And then I walked out heading towards my dorm.

* * *

><p>I walked into school the next day ready to turn a new leaf. I was ready to forgive and forget. It would be hard, but I was ready. But that's not how things went down. When I entered the building, there was nothing. No talking. Just complete and utter silence. I watched people huddling around the main screen in near the front office. It was the screen where they showed the announcements and it was almost as big as a classroom board. All the students stood and watched something playing on the screen.<p>

I could faintly hear what was being said, but it was mostly just a jumble of words mixed together. But when I heard ADHD my blood turned cold. My body stood still and I couldn't breath. It couldn't be. I pushed myself to the front of the crowd and stared in horror at the screen. " _And when I woke up in the ICU with an IV in my arm, I was told that I wouldn't be going back to school for at least two months. Thalia, and Rachel, and everyone who cared was there. And even though I hated you at that point, I still waited. I waited for the guy who made me suicidal to show up and walk over to my hospital bed and hug me and say that he cared about me and was sorry. But he didn't. You didn't. I still remember my mother's face. She seemed cold inside. And when I saw my own reflection in the bathroom I realized I did too. I was pale and weak and helpless. And from there I went to a behavioral hospital.."_

I watched myself sit on his bed. I watched myself tell him my story, what I went through and all my misery. I couldn't stop the tears from falling at that point. I could feel everybody's eyes on me. Judging me, boring into my soul. I pushed my way out and ran. I could still hear the video playing, my voice spilling all my secrets to him. I spotted him out of the corner of my eye. He had stopped a screen to watch the video. I walked up to him and stared into his eyes.

" And to think that I was about to forgive you for everything today." I felt the students crowding around us, but I didn't care. " Annabeth, I didn't-" "Save it Jackson. Are you happy? Is that why you stopped in front of this screen? To admire your work?" " Annabeth-" "I don't care what you have to say. But I just want you to know that I will _never_ forgive you. So I hope you got what you wanted." I could still feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. Everything hurt right now. " Annabeth! I-" "Save it for someone who cares." And for the third time that day, I pushed my way out of the crowd of students and headed for my dorm.

**AN: Well... I kinda felt proud about this chapter. I personally thought it was pretty good. Especially with all the drama unfolding. At first I didn't know where I was going with it, but I think it turned out pretty good. Review for me dahlings?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**Chapter 5: **

Piper's POV

"Pipes, please don't stress about this. Look, this is what's gonna happen. You're gonna go up to . You're going to show him the evidence. And then this will all be over. You can do this. I'm going to be with you every step of the way. I promise." Rachel brushed my hair out of my face as I nodded. I was ready. I was going to tell the principal about my cyberbuyllying. I turned around and smiled.

" I'm ready." Rachel stroked my arm and I smiled. It'd been about a week since she revealed herself to me and I'd been happy since. She kissed my cheek as we strolled out the door. We both agreed to keep our relationship a secret for the time being. I didn't want to be open about it until my bullying died down, and she was scared about coming out. We instantly separated once nearing the campus.

As we walked our way to the front office, I saw a crowd dispensing. The principals were all ushering students to their classes while trying to cover something up on the big screen. I ignored the whole fiasco and headed straight to the office. , the school secretary looked up from the glasses perched on her nose and stared at the both of us.

"Well, what do you want?" she finally questioned, rather rudely I might add. "I have business with Principal Grace." I stated simply. I felt proud of myself for standing my ground. "Did you set an appointment with him already?" She was cold, and heartless and strived to make kids fear her. "This is a serious matter. I couldn't wait for an appointment." She sneered. "Well looks like you'll have to make an appointment if it's really that important."

Right then, Mr. Grace walked out into the front office. "Karen, did you get me my coffee?" turned bright red and shot daggers at us. Karen? "No Mr. Grace, I've been dealing with these…. Students." He finally seemed to notice us. "Oh. Who are these young ladies?" "I'm Piper Mclean, and this is my friend Rachel Dare. We have a really important matter to discuss with you, but Mrs. Dodds here said we had to make an appointment?" He looked over at 'Karen' then back at us. "I actually, have no other appointments today, so you guys can just come right in."

Mr. Grace's office was actually more modern than you would think. There was a hot chocolate machine on one side of the office with marshmallows in a container, hot chocolate powder in another, and stirring straws. On the left-hand side of his office, there was a little TV he used in his spare time and a couch near that he obviously used for catnaps. In the middle was his desk and computer. " Alright, what's this important matter we have to take care of?" I didn't plan on beating around the bush at all. I wanted to get this over with so I could go celebrate with my girlfriend by eating ice cream and cuddling in our dorm.

" Recently, I was being cyberbullied. Certain students called me a prostitute and other choice words. And I wanted to report it to make sure it doesn't happen again." Rachel pulled out her phone and placed it in front of , the pictures displayed brightly. He looked down at it and finally placed his head in his hands. "What is happening with this generation?" Rachel's eyebrows knit in the most adorable way and I couldn't help but stare. " Excuse me?" She sounded worried and curious and in all honesty, that's exactly how I felt on the inside. "First the video, and now this." Now I was beginning to get worried. "Video?" He turned his screen towards us and hit play. At first I didn't know what I was looking at. But then my eyes adjusted and my chin fell to the floor.

"_I finally tried. And I did. I chugged my ADHD pills. And when I woke up in the ICU with an IV in my arm, I was told that I wouldn't be going back to school for at least two months. Thalia, and Rachel, and everyone who cared was there. And even though I hated you at that point, I still waited. I waited for the guy who made me suicidal to show up and walk over to my hospital bed and hug me and say that he cared about me and was sorry. But he didn't. You didn't." _Annabeth sounded so broken inside. I looked over to Rachel to see her eyes clouding with tears. "Annabeth…" Mr. Grace looked over at us with a look of sympathy.

"I don't know who released this. But a certain young woman believed that the person responsible is Mr. Jackson himself. If you know anything about this please let me know as soon as you can. As for your cyberbullying, since the names of these student bodies are next to their posts, there is no need for investigation. These students will be called to my office immediately and their punishment will be automatic suspension." I nodded at Mr. Grace and grabbed my bags. I had to go find Annabeth.

* * *

><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

I stared at myself in the mirror for what seemed like forever. I willed for my image to change, but it stayed the same. Long, pin-straight blonde hair, gray calculating eyes, tan skin. All the same. My eyes were bloodshot and hurt like Hades. My phone rang for the umpteenth time, and I swear I had to resist myself from smashing it against the wall. Percy'd been trying to contact me for the past two hours and I was done. I was absolutely done.

Where he got my number, I'll never know, but honestly I didn't care. The video wasn't only programmed to play in the school's screen, it was also released onto any and every social media site you could think of. Percy could deny it all he wanted, but it was released from his account, with a tag line that read: _Am I a great actor or what?_ I finally decided to check my phone after the constant blinking of the notification light finally annoyed me enough. And the messages went like this:

**Annabeth that wasn't me.**

**Annabeth please talk to me.**

**I didn't release the video. **

**Please believe me. **

**I would never hurt you like that.**

**Annabeth….**

**Annabeth are you okay?**

**Annabeth. Talk to me. **

**Please don't ignore me!**

They pretty much kept repeating after that. I didn't believe anything that asshole said anymore. I didn't believe anyone anymore. I was just absolutely done with everyone and everything. I heard the dorm door open and quickly shut my phone off. I tried to wipe my eyes as best as I could but it really wasn't helping any.

"Bethy?" I basically sprinted out the bathroom door and into Zach's arms. He stroked my hair and engulfed me in a hug. "Are you okay Beth?" He hugged me tighter and I just leaned into his embrace. I nodded. "I can't believe that asshole did that you." I pulled away from the hug and he kissed me roughly. That resulted in my pulling away also. " Zachary, I'm just not in the mood right now to be romantic. I have a lot going on, as you obviously know."

He almost looked mad, but then he nodded and sat down on my bed. "Listen, Beth I really have to go take care of my sister up in Manhattan. She's extremely sick and I'm worried about her. I'm really sorry to leave you like this…" I shook my head. " No, it's okay I promise. I'm fine. Go ahead. I'll be fine." He gave me one last hug and kissed me quickly before exiting the dorm. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It felt like nothing. Was that what a kiss was supposed to feel like? Cold and empty and barren? I guess so. I sat on my bed and grabbed my computer logging on to my Facebook. _Lacy Swift tagged you in her status update_ popped up on my notifications. I clicked it worriedly.

**Lacy Swift: Wow, attention-whore much? '**_**Oh, please pity me because I tried to kill myself**_'. **You've really hit rock bottom Annabeth Chase. **

I hurriedly scrolled down my news feed.

**Sarah Smite: That video today about Annabeth Chase…. Wow. Does she really consider herself the only suicidal girl out there? Does she really want pity that much?**

**Antony Lane: Wow, she's real fucking fake. Get over yourself Annabeth. #bitchesbetripping #frfr #canyounot #fakeaf**

**Beth Delores: Annabeth Chase is in my musical theatre class. I don't particularly like her, but I know she's not a bad person. She doesn't deserve the hate that you guys are throwing at her. She wouldn't do things like this for attention. **

**Marcello Henderson: '**_**I downed my ADHD pills**_**'. She is such a freak. Can you say druggie?**

**Comment by; Lacy Swift: I swear she's on meth. She has to be. Cocaine at the least. **

**Hannah Waters: I honestly think that Annabeth is a big fucking freak. Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake. **

I shut the computer screen in a hurry. There were so many more it hurt my eyes to look. I couldn't contain my sobs anymore. "No, no, no, no, no! Please not again!" Suddenly, the door burst open and in came Piper followed by Rachel. Rachel shut the door behind her. "Anne, oh god, are you okay?" Piper asked. Rachel sat next to me on the bed as Piper pulled a coffee cup out of a carrying container and passed it to me. I stayed silent.

This couldn't be happening to me again. After all those years of torture, I thought I'd never look back. Why. " Anne, please talk to me." "I don't want this again." I muttered. I thought it was inaudible but obviously it wasn't because Rachel's eyes widened and she looked terrified. "Annabeth… What are you talking about?" I wasn't going to tell them. I wasn't going to risk the chance of dragging them into this.

"Nothing. Just forget it. Listen I'm fine. Alright? Just a little under the weather." Piper looked like she didn't believe a word I said, but Rachel seemed more at ease. She was always the more gullible one in this friendship. "Are you sure Annabeth? We'll stay here with you. It doesn't matter to us." "No, please go enjoy your afternoon. I'll be fine." And with that they left me to my isolation.

I ducked my head as I walked into the school the next morning. I'd gone for a look that would make me blend in with everyone. I tossed my hair in a bun and wore a random shirt and jeans. But that didn't stop anything. First period was okay. Architectural design was always my favorite class. But after that my comfort ended.

Spitballs in second period. Trash-talking in third period. Fourth period, someone passed me a note that said, _Hey, wanna buy some meth?_ Fifth period was lunch where I was first pursued by Percy as he tried to explain to me that he didn't post the video, but then Zachary came to the rescue and we spent an okayish period together.

Sixth period things got bad. Some people trampled me in the hallway. Seventh period was my breaking point. I went to the bathroom to escape some of the torture going on in class and it turns out Lacy and her minions were there. Lacy Swift was a confusing girl. Her hair was a bright bottle-blonde, her eyes (cough cough contacts) were almost neon blue. Her face was always caked with makeup and her lips were always red. Her nails looked like claws and she always wore the shortest skirts and the tightest shirts.

Of course she hated me. And it was just my luck that I happened to walk into the bathroom she was in. She scoffed at me. "Ah, is little Anniebelle upset? Are you here to cut your way through your problems?" I ignored her and tried to make my way to a stall. But then she put her hand in front of me as if to say, _Did I give you permission to move? _ She brought something out of her purse and before I could even register what it was she threw whatever it was at me.

And that's when all the ADHD pills she had in her bag landed on me and spilled around the floor. I stood there frozen in place. Had she really just thrown ADHD pills at me? "What's wrong Anniebelle? Not gonna pick em up and start popping them? Or do you want a blade to cut with instead? Hey, look there's a thread hanging off your sweatshirt, maybe you can make a noose out of it." And then she walked out. As soon as she left I broke down. I locked the bathroom doors and started picking up the pills on the ground. If anyone found them scattered around they'd automatically tell an AP that Annabeth Chase, the school druggie was popping pills in the restroom.

I flushed them all down the toilet. By then the final bell had rung. I was just opening the door to the bathroom when a flash blinded me. And that flash was the dozens of cameras clicking to take pictures of me. "I told you guys. She's been popping pills in the bathroom the entire afternoon." I turned to the source of the voice and found one of Lacy's minions. Percy was among the crowd, and he caught my eye. But as soon as I saw him, I looked away. But what I ask myself now, is what I ever did to deserve the worst of luck.

**AN: I know this was kind of a short chapter, but I kind of felt like it was important to include. So yeah. Guys, please please please review? It'd mean the world to me if you guys could please give me constructive criticism or at least tell me what you think of it? Please? Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Aww I feel all warm and loved inside! Thanks 'Guest' for your review that brightened up my day when I saw it! And to Miaadventure, no I have not read Gallagher Girls, what is it about? And to Jedi1, I promise you everything will be explained soon. I didn't forget about that detail, it will be explained soon. Anyway thanks to those who reviewed! - ShyGal**

**Chapter 6: **

**Annabeth's POV: **

You know those movies where the protagonist's problems magically disappear? And they live happily ever after? Yeah, that stuff doesn't happen in real life.

Two weeks later and the tormenting hadn't stopped. I tried to look nice and presentable, people thought I was being an attention-seeking whore. I tried to blend into a crowd and not dress up, I was crashing from a high.

Piper insisted that I talk to Mr. Grace, but when I tried to tell him that Lacy was bullying me and spreading rumors about me, he said and I quote, "My daughter would do no such thing. She is the most sweet, caring, and considerate young woman I've ever met. Don't accuse her of false acts.". I didn't even know he was her dad.

I tried to explain to him that people were bullying me constantly and tormenting me on social media, but he told me that Lacy said that I made fake posts online to blame these people who actually _had_ posted horrible things about me. He told me that she told him that I was doing this to take my revenge on all these people. I don't know how Lacy managed to get Mr. Grace all wrapped up around her finger, but it really angered me that he was that gullible.

Right now, I was slowly chewing on a peanut butter sandwich in the school cafeteria. Rachel and Piper sat to my right and Thalia to my left. Hazel Levesque- a new girl who had transferred to Goode a week ago- sat next to Thalia. For only meeting a week ago, we were all actually getting really close. She was basically part of our 'squad'.

For the past couple days I'd barley spoken a word. I was actually scared that I was becoming mute. I'd been wearing gray for who knows how long and my eyes were sunken, shallow pits. I was cold inside. I was slowly breaking apart.

You know how the bark of an apple tree sometimes peels off? That's how I felt. Like my soul was just peeling away. I set my sandwich down. My stomach groaned in protest, but I silently told it to shut up. Thalia looked at me. Her piercing blue eyes were filled with worry and I quickly looked away.

"Annabeth. Are you going to eat the rest of your supper?" I looked over at Piper and shook my head. "Why? Do you want the rest?" Piper's eyes shimmered as she looked down at my plate. I had only eaten a couple bites from one out of four sides of my sandwich, my brownie was left untouched, I hadn't even looked at my bag of chips, and my milk carton was still tightly shut. "Annabeth, you need to eat." "You haven't eaten a full meal in weeks." Rachel stated. "I haven't been hungry."

Right then, my stomach decided to imitate a whale. Thalia scoffed. "Yeah, I see how 'not hungry' you are." I stayed silent. "Annabeth please eat. If you don't want to eat for yourself, eat for me." Hazel begged. "I'm not hungry guys." "You've lost 12 pounds in two weeks Annabeth! You're basically just skin and bones! Please eat something!" I stared at Thalia and found myself dumbfounded when I saw her eyes were wet with tears.

"I'm not hungry." I sounded like a broken record. I slowly got up and headed towards the trashcan. Before I even got to throw my food in the trashcan, something cold, lumpy, and wet started dripping down to my face. "Wow, this lumpy gravy goes great with your look Beth." I turned my head to see none other than Hannah Waters, one of the many followers Lacy had. I couldn't think. The whole cafeteria was silent. "This gravy is freaky. You're freaky. It's a perfect match." I heard laughter all around the cafeteria. I bit my lip to the point where it almost drew blood. I thought about the last time something had been dumped on my head. 5th grade, when Percy left me. It was as if everything came rushing back at once. I grabbed my bag and ran.

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><p>I sat in the corner of the shower with my arms wrapped around my legs. I'd washed out the gravy about twenty minutes ago. Now I was planning. I would put my plan into action tonight. I wouldn't go see anyone. I'd just leave notes for the ones who were actually worth my time. I stared at my arms. I'd set my razor down a few minutes back, but my arms were still bleeding. I cupped some water in my hands and washed the blood away. How long had I been clean? Two years? Guess you really can't get rid of bad habits. "Annabeth?" I turned the water off and wrapped myself in a towel. "Annabeth?"<p>

"Who is it?"

"Thalia. Annabeth open up." I stared at my arms.

"What time is it?" There was a pause.

" It's only 7:30."

"I-I'm not dressed."

"Annabeth. Open the door." I didn't respond.

"Annabeth, open the _fucking_ door or so help me, I will call the police at this very instant." I wiped my arms off quickly and opened the door. She rushed in and grabbed my arms. At first she saw nothing. But I knew there was only a limited time until the cuts started bleeding again. "Oh gods. Oh gods, Annabeth. Annabeth, what did you do. Annabeth, oh gods." I looked up at her to see her crying. The tears were rolling down her cheeks quickly. She grabbed her phone. "Thalia, what are you doing."

"I'm calling the police, you're going to the hospital." I grabbed the phone from her.

"No way in hell am I going back. There's no way." I shut the bathroom door, got dressed, and then rushed out of the bathroom. "Annabeth!" Thalia tried calling after me but it was no use. I knew where I already knew where I was going.

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><p>Piper's POV<p>

I smiled against Rachel's lips as she ran her fingers through my tangled locks. "We need to work on your Precalculus, Pipes." She whispered pulling away. I groaned. "Precalculus includes counting, right?" Rachel looked at me like I'd grown a third head. "Uh, yeah?" "Well, I'm going to count how many times I can plant a kiss on your lips, and it'll be a form of Precalculus." "Pipes-" I kissed her quickly. "I-" One more. "We need to-" And again. She finally kissed me back and that's when the bloody phone decided to ring. I groaned. "Ughhhhhhhh." Rachel picked up the phone and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"**AnnabethranawayandIdon'tknowwheresheis!" **Thalia frantically shouted into the phone. "Woah, slow down Thals. What about Annabeth?"

"**Annabeth ran away! I don't know where she is, and when I found her in the dorm, she'd just finished cutting herself, and I'm just scared that she's gonna do something bad, please please you need to help me!" **The air around us seemed to thicken and it made it harder to breathe. "Annabeth relapsed?" Rachel seemed terrified to even ask.

"**I told her that I was going to call the police, but she snatched the phone away and said she couldn't go back to the hospital and she refused to. I don't want to send her back, but I don't want her to end up doing something horrible to herself." **Rachel dropped the phone and ran out of the dorm.

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><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

I tied up my hands with a fishing net from the swimming closet and did the same to my feet. I then sat on the edge of the school swimming pool. The cold autumn air brushed against my cheeks. I closed my eyes and thought about my life up to this point. All the pain, and the misery, the watery smiles I tried to achieve even though I was as good as dead inside.

But it'd all be over now. I could finally be free to be whoever I wanted to be. I didn't have to be held back by society's strict rules of how someone should be. I'd miss Thalia, and Rachel, and Piper, and everyone else who was there for me. They were the one's who made my life worth it. But my pain overweighed the smiles they put on my face and I had simply had enough. I heard someone yell Annabeth in the distance, but I ignored it. It was time.

I plunged into the pool. The water almost brought on a comforting feeling. Surrounding me with its cool texture. I let my eyes close as I felt myself drifting towards the bottom. About a minute later, I started struggling. I knew it was natural so I just let it happen. The way I had tied myself up I knew that the net would hold. My lungs started burning, and I knew I only had so long until I was gone. It felt like my body was being ripped open from the inside.

Suddenly, the comforting water turned into a burning hell. I could feel my lungs collapsing. I was so close. I wanted to scream, but I had no strength in me. I thought I heard someone crying Annabeth, but I had no time to register it. I slipped into darkness.

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><p>I couldn't understand what was happening. I felt like my insides were spilling all over the wet pavement. Someone was patting my back, but I didn't know whom. Water spilled out of my mouth for what seemed like forever. I was so tired. "Annabeth, stay with me." My eyes were drooping. "Oh gods." I could feel myself rising from the ground, but I honestly couldn't comprehend the situation. I finally drifted off into what felt like sleep, but it didn't last long. I heard a voice from not too far away.<p>

"Look, she's fine. I have her." There was a pause. "She's sleeping. And I honestly think it'd be better if she stayed with me. Don't worry. Go to sleep, you need it. Alright? Don't worry I'm going to be awake all night. I'll take care of her." There was a click. My head was pounding and my chest hurt like hell. All in all, I felt like a pile of shit. I made an almost inaudible noise, but apparently it wasn't as inaudible as I thought because who ever had been talking made his way over to me.

It took all my strength to open my eyes, but I did it. My eyes adjusted to my surroundings. If this was heaven, it sure did look a lot like a dorm room. "Annabeth?" I tried to find the source of the voice. His sea-green eyes bored into mine. They were filled with so much concern and worry. "How are you?" I coughed. "What am I doing here?" Percy walked over to his bed and sat next to me. "Do you remember anything?" I stayed silent. "I was in the pool." His eyes suddenly turned cold. He grabbed my unstable frame and pulled me into his embrace. "I swear to the gods, if you _ever_ do that again… Annabeth I can't believe you." I pulled away.

I didn't even want to know where this conversation was headed. "I-I just…. Gods. I'm walking around and then I see you sitting next to the pool. Next thing I know, you're trying to drown yourself, and I'm over here pulling you out of the pool and performing CPR on you. You don't even know how scared I was of losing you. You were almost gone." "Why didn't you leave me to drown?" I knew it was harsh, but I wanted it so badly. His eyes were glistening. "Because Annabeth! Contrary to what you think, people want you here. I know what you're going through is tough. I'm not saying it's not. But people do want you here. People need you. I need you."

I stared at him, my eyes wide in disbelief. That's when I took into account every little detail about him. His hair was glistening wet, and his eyes looked dull. His shirt was damp, and his lips were red.

"I need you Annabeth. I need you to be here. I need you to stay here so you can annoy me and I can annoy you, and we can annoy each other. I need you to stay here so I can have peace of mind. So I can know that you're okay. I need you here so I can show you everyday that I care about you. That I'm sorry and that I never meant to hurt you. That I would never misuse your trust. That I would never be so cruel as to do what you think I did. I want to show you how much I regret dumping that bucket of sand of you that day in fifth grade. I want to show you everything. How much I miss you and how incredible you are. I need you to be here so I can hear you complain about how much you don't want me to be in this play with you and how much you hate this project with me. I just need you, Annabeth. I want you back. I want to show you how much I regret everything I ever did to you. But I need you alive. And I'll do whatever it takes, Annabeth. Please stay here with me. Even if it means nothing to you, it'll mean something to me. The impact you'll have on someone's life if you let yourself go will be unrepairable. And I know that this doesn't mean that we'll best friends again, but I want you in my life and I'll take you in any way shape or form. I can't lose you to death. You can't die on me. I need you to breathe. I need you to eat, sleep, and cry, and just be here. I need you to be healthy and I need you to smile and just be you. I need you alive. Please stay."

I didn't even know I was crying until he wiped my tears with his thumb. He rested his forehead against mine and I didn't even mind. I took in a breath and was actually glad I still could. He wrapped his arms around me and I didn't pull away. I accepted it. And I knew that we had things that were unresolved at the moment. But I didn't want to think about it. He pulled away slowly and stared at me.

"Okay." And that word was enough to make him smile. He closed his eyes enjoying the moment. "Okay. I'll leave you to rest." I grabbed his arm before he could even move. "It's your turn to stay with me." I whispered. But he could he hear it. And so, I spent my night in his bed recalling old times from camp. I thought it was the best way to be.

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><p><strong>AN: Review? <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed!**

**Chapter 7:**

"Ow, Percy stop!" He groaned in protest. "Stop, or I'm leaving your dorm this instant." He let go of the strand of hair he'd been playing with. I smiled. I was currently lying on his bed with him a good distance away. "Thank you, Mr. Jackson." "Not a problem, Mrs. Chase." I rolled my eyes at him. It'd been a week since I'd tried to off myself. The day after I tried was complete chaos….

_**Flashback**_

I sat on Percy's bed laughing hysterically. He'd just finished telling me the story of how Grover, our old camp friend, was completely beat up by his now girlfriend Juniper. Apparently he didn't throw a piece of paper in the recycling bin and she went ballistic. He looked down at my arms for a quick second and grimaced.

"You cut yourself pretty deep, Wise girl." I looked down at my arms. I really had. The cut was gruesome. They weren't so deep that I needed stitches-which I was glad for-, but they weren't just a 'little scratch'. He got up from the bed we were sharing and walked over to the bathroom. He came back with a first-aid kit.

"Hold out your arms for me." I didn't even argue. I stretched them out and he grabbed them. He brought his lips down slowly and planted a kiss on my arm. I smiled slowly. "Now if you ever pick up a blade again, you'll remember me and hopefully that'll stop you." He then opened the first-aid kit and brought out the gauze. I sat still as he covered up my arms in gauze. I longed to change the conversation, so I did.

"So.. Where is your supposed roommate?" He chuckled. "He probably slept over at his girlfriend's dorm. Coincidentally, her roommate wasn't at their dorm either. " My eyebrows knit. "What-" At that moment, his roommate decided to walk in. "Hey, Percy why did you lock the door? I told you I was, WHAT THE FUCKING HADES." I whipped my head around so fast I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash. "Nico?" "What the fucking hell is she doing here?! I thought you hated her? Oh gods, did you guys fuck? Oh please, tell me you cleaned up after yourselves. Oh gods, this is so fucking disgusting."

Percy was about to explain, but at the same time, Thalia decided to walk in. "Hey, Nico." He pushed through the doorway and walked over to me. "Are you okay?" She didn't even seem surprised I was here which kind of bothered me. "Yeah, I'm fine." She paused. "Where did you go last night?!" I didn't respond. I knew if I told her the truth, she'd eat me alive. "She came over here. She wanted me to clear up the whole video thing." I looked over to Percy. I had never been so grateful before in my life. Well, other than when he saved me from drowning. Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Piper and Rachel walking in. Holding hands?

"Hey! Annabeth, where were you last night, I'd been looking for you everywhere!" I looked over at Rachel. She seemed so worried. "Um, I came over here to talk to Percy about the video. Why are you and Piper holding hands?" They suddenly seemed to realize that that's exactly what they were doing and quickly moved away from each other. "What? We weren't, we're not. Why does it matter anyway?! Best friends can hold each others hands without it meaning anything!" Piper yelled. We stared at her.

"Are you on crack?" Nico asked what we were all wondering. Rachel stepped in. "What I really wanna know is why Annabeth and Percy are in the same bed." I turned as red as Rachel's hair. "They fucked last night." Nico grinned mischievously while shouts erupted in the room. "You did WHAT with my cousin?" If I could blush any harder, I definitely did. She smiled. That scared the living daylights out of me. Then she turned to Percy. "Maybe I should rephrase the question. You did WHAT with my best friend?"

And obviously, Piper decided she needed to step in. "You guys had sex?! Unprotected?! I thought you hated him! Oh gods. Are you pregnant?!" "What is it with you guys and my family? First, Piper has a crush on Jason, now you're having a kid with my cousin?!" I looked over to Thalia as she started ranting. Of course, with my luck, Zachary happened to hear the ruckus coming from his dorm and walked in.

"Hey guys, what's going on? I…WHAT THE FUCKING HELL." I jumped to the other side of the room as Percy sat there astonished. "Why were you guys in the same bed? Did you have SEX with my girlfriend?" He looked over to me. "I know Annabeth would never be unfaithful to me like that. Did you rape her? He drugged you didn't he? Tell me the truth Bethy, don't be scared." "I didn't do-" But Percy didn't get to finish his sentence because Zachary tackled him to the ground.

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><p>And that's how Percy ended up with a black eye. After we finally got Zachary off of Percy, we explained to everyone that it was all just a misunderstanding. Zachary apologized to Percy, but still seemed kinda ticked. "Watcha thinking about?" I snapped back to reality. I shoved him. "None of your business, Mr. Let's pull Annabeth's hair until she cries." He smirked.<p>

Our friendship had definitely rekindled. We were more like frenemies. Just like he stated, we weren't back to being best friends for sure, but it was better then how we were before. There were certain things we didn't talk about though. He didn't tell me what his motives where for abandoning me in fifth grade. He told me it was something that we just couldn't discuss for the time being. He sat me down and said, "Wise girl, if you trust me, please don't ask questions. I can't afford to lose you when I just got you back." And that ended the conversation entirely. I didn't want to ruin our newfound friendship.

I knew that eventually I'd get overly curious and ask, but for right now, I was okay. I stared at his black eye and almost busted out laughing. He looked at me and scowled. "Stop laughing at me, _Bethy._" I frowned. "I don't even like it when Zachary calls me that and he's my boyfriend." He stayed quiet. He didn't really like to talk about Zachary that much so I barely ever brought him up. After a couple seconds of dead silence he shifted in his bed.

"So, Ms. Chase, tell me about yourself." I smiled at him curiously. "What do you mean, Mr. Jackson?" "Well, you originally came over to my dorm to work on the project, didn't you? I mean unless there was a hidden motive for you coming over? Maybe something to do with the fact that you're sprawled out on my bed just asking for me to crawl on you? I mean there's every chance. Nico's not here right now…. And I know you're just dying to get laid by me. I mean I can't blame you….I'm incredible if I do say so myself." He smirked cockily and I shoved him. "Shut up, Jackson." Even though I couldn't deny that puberty had definitely done its work on him.

"Well then spill your guts to me." I sighed. "Well…Where should I start? Obviously I've struggled with depression and self-harm. I long to be an architect. I want to be able to one day see something so beautiful, and know that it was my doing. That I helped make that. That I helped it come true. It's so intriguing and interesting to me. The way that you can make something so proportional and beautiful and perfect. I want to go to a school with a good design department. Major in architecture and become the best architect in all of New York. I probably won't be widely recognized, but it doesn't matter to me. See the thing is, so many people go into life every day thinking about the future. I've personally heard people say that they're going to choose their future career based on the amount of money it produces. And when I hear things like that, it just makes me so upset. Because these people, they could end up being the richest of the rich. Have millions and millions of dollars, but when they look back on their life, will they be able to say that they were happy with what they accomplished? I don't care how much money being an architect produces. It's my passion. I know that I'm going to be happy being an architect. And I'm going to be able to look back and say that I'm happy with life and proud of everything I achieved. I want to live day by day. I want to enjoy every moment like it's the last one I'll ever experience. I want to have a family that I can count on and someone that will support the family and be there and love me. I want to love and be loved and to have my future children be loved. I guess….I just want to build something permanent. Something that will always be there standing tall and proud no matter what happens."

I took a breath and looked over at Percy. He had this dazed look in his eye and he had a lopsided smile playing on his lips. "I'm sorry. I know I was ranting." He shifted. "No apology need Ms. Chase." I smiled slightly and continued.

"Well, other than wanting to be an architect, I'll admit to you right now that I'm totally and completely addicted to Starbucks. I'm all about that Salted Caramel Mocha. But really, I only drink frappuchinos, even in winter. My favorite seasonal drinks are the Eggnog Frappuchino and the Peppermint Mocha Frappuchino. It's soooooooo amazing. Also, I still practice swordplay sometimes. I'm not a big fan of makeup. But I can say that I haven't left my hair natural for over 3 years. I always straighten it, which is probably why my hair is so horribly damaged."

He started twirling a piece of hair through his fingers. I smiled at him and there was a comfortable silence between us. He stared into my eyes and I was almost mesmerized at how many colors there actually were in them. Blues mixing with greens, even a little bit of amber here and there. I could watch them forever and never be bored.

"Annabeth?" I let out a breath. "Yes?" "Do you want to maybe start reading scripts? We don't start group rehearsals for the musical for another week and I thought maybe you'd like to get a head start?" I smiled. "Your eyes are pretty." He chuckled. I realized what I said and blushed. Where the fuck did that come from? I mean it wasn't a lie, but still. He ran his finger under my eye. "Your eyes are pretty too Wise girl."

"I didn't mean to say that."

"Welp. You did. So too bad. I knew you wanted me to lay you."

"I said your eyes are pretty, not fuck me now please."

"Basically the same thing." I scowled.

"Bite me, Jackson."

"Oh, so we like kinky sex now do we? By the way, let me inform you that you didn't deny my last comment."

"You're impossible. And let me remind you I have a boyfriend. Oh gods, you are such a perv."

"Says the girl who asked me to fuck her."

"I said you have pretty eyes!"

"Basically the same thing!"

We'd gotten closer and closer each time. This is how we were. We'd be fine with each other and then arguing the next. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, just daring the other to back down. It was perfect. And then….My phone rang. I quickly checked the notification.

"Perce, I gotta go. I'm meeting Zachary at the movie theatre down the street soon. I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded and that was that.

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><p>The next day, the unexpected happened. Me, Percy, Zachary, Thalia, Hazel, Rachel, and Piper were all walking in to the school cafeteria for breakfast. I had just walked in the line so I could get some breakfast. Zachary was walking with me. His arm was draped around my waist and he watched as I picked up a plate of chocolate chip pancakes.<p>

As we walked back to the table, we noticed that Thalia was standing up in front of Piper with her finger pointed at her. I set my plate down and listened. " You know what he said to me? He said, hm maybe you should bring her over for winter break. He wants to meet you, and as much as I would love for you to be my sister-in-law, I really can't get over the fact that you like him." Piper stood there silently, as did Rachel.

"I mean, why Jason? What attracts you to him? He's so horrible. Honestly you have no taste in men. I just don't see what you see in him. I mean are you blind? He's-" But she didn't get to finish her sentence because at that point, Piper had grabbed Rachel's shirt and pulled her lips towards hers. I could hear the cafeteria slowly getting quiet. When Piper finally pulled away, she stared straight at Thalia. "My girlfriend." She turned to everyone.

"Did you hear that everybody? This is my girlfriend! And I don't give a flying fuck what you have to say about it." She turned back to Thalia. "Sorry, but I actually don't have a crush on your brother. I'm too busy having a crush on my girlfriend. So really, when we were late to girl's night, we weren't gossiping about your brother, we were actually just together. And we were holding hands because that's just what couples do. And we're a couple because she's my girlfriend and I'm her girlfriend and yeah. Girlfriend. And honestly, you don't know how great it feels to finally be able to call her my girlfriend." And then, a smiling Rachel and a proud Piper walked out of the cafeteria with their heads held high.

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><p><strong>AN: I don't really know how I feel about this chapter. I feel like it's too short. But anyways, review pwesh?<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed! **

**BTW: Something will be revealed in this chapter...**

**Annabeth's POV**

After Piper and Rachel's 'big reveal', everything seemed to fall into place. People seemed intimidated by her now, and even though the dorm advisors knew Rachel and Piper were dorming together, they made no attempt to break them apart. Then again, I slept over at Percy's dorm a couple times and no one ever said anything. No wonder so many girls get knocked up in this school. Anyway, they were extremely open about their relationship now and I honestly couldn't be happier for them. Thalia was extremely happy that Piper didn't have any attraction to Jason, and Piper was happy that she could be open about Rachel being her girlfriend.

I was also overly pleased with how things were working out for me at the moment. My bullying had died down thanks to the one and only Percy Jackson. Someone had tried to start bullying me again last week and before they could even finish their first sentence, Percy walked up to them and said, "Any of you say one more horrible word about Annabeth, and I swear to all the gods I will make sure it's the last one you ever say." And that was that. Nobody tormented me anymore and I was so grateful for Percy just being himself. And now, as I sat in Zachary's dorm in a beanbag, it couldn't be better.

Except it could be. Because _everything_ felt wrong at that moment. I felt stiff and uncomfortable sitting in the chair, and the air around me felt full of tension. Zachary walked out of the bathroom with his hair dripping wet. His blue eyes were glinting with something I didn't know, and his smile seemed almost seductive. He held his shirt in his hands. "Hey Zachary." I smiled warmly at him. Wrong. This all felt wrong. "Bethy. What's up?" I got up and sat down on the edge of his bed while he sat across from me. He stayed shirtless.

"Uh nothing, just came over because you wanted to talk?" I knew I was staring but I couldn't help it. And not because I was enjoying myself. I felt like he was purposely leaving his shirt off for me which kinda bothered me. He noticed me staring and smiled. Then he slipped on his shirt. And I had the sensation that this was all planned.

"Oh yes. I wanted to talk to you about Percy." Everything stilled. "Percy?" He nodded. Suddenly his calm expression turned into an angrier one. " Why did you forgive him. He literally posted a video about you revealing your past struggles to him and made you the laughing stock of the school. Why did you forgive him?"

I was at a dilemma. I obviously couldn't tell him I had tried to kill myself and he saved me because he'd be extremely disappointed and worried about me, but I obviously couldn't tell him that I had decided to forgive Percy out of the blue. Heh. Out of the blue. Percy loves blue…. I shook myself out of my ungermanic thoughts and suddenly, a lightbulb turned on in my head.

"The reason I forgave Percy was because he didn't post the video." "Yes he did-" I cut him off.

"No. He didn't. Because at the time the video was posted, I was with him and I am witness to the fact that he did not post the video." And it wasn't even a lie. I had checked out the video and though it said it was posted from his profile, it also said that it was posted at 6:23. I left his dorm at 6:30, and he didn't even have a recording device or a computer on him in the first place. It was now obviously clear that he didn't post the video. His profile was hacked into or someone knows his password. I was suddenly flooded with guilt. How could I have been so stupid? I blamed him for everything and resented him for doing absolutely nothing except comforting me. I almost face palmed myself but stopped when I realized Zachary staring at me.

"Bethy, what are you talking about?" I let out a breath. "I was with him when the video was posted. The video was posted at 6:23, but I left his dorm at 6:30. There's no possible way he posted that." His face turned into the most indignant expression I had seen in my life.

"And you're going to trust him on that?" My eyebrows knit and I had to resist the urge to let my jaw drop. "What do you mean trust him on that? This has nothing to do with trust, it has to do with facts!" He slammed his fist down on his nightstand and I watched frightfully as it shook. "He could've messed with the website or screwed up the time on his profile or something! Jesus, Annabeth I didn't know you could be so god damn gullible!"

I was astonished at his outburst but I wouldn't back down. I was going to defend Percy because he didn't do anything wrong in the first place. "Zachary, I was there when the video was posted! He didn't even have his phone on him! He didn't post the video!" He grabbed my arm forcefully and I almost whimpered. He must've caught on to how hard he was gripping my arm because his eyes began to soften and he loosened his grip on it. "Okay, Beth. I don't think you should trust him. I just don't. But I don't want to fight with you. I love you." I gritted my teeth. "I love you too, Zach." That might've been the most forceful 'I love you', I ever said.

He then proceeded to pick me up bridal style and set me down on his bed. I had a sickening feeling that I wouldn't like where this was going. He stared at me almost hungrily and I suddenly wanted to hide. I watched as he laid himself down on top of my small frame and then pushed himself up on his arms. "You look beautiful, you know." He whispered. But I couldn't do anything but look up at him. And then, without warning, he kissed me strenuously.

I felt myself running out of air, and I didn't think he was planning on stopping any time soon. After about three minutes, I thought it was over. But I was wrong. He pulled away from my lips only to begin attacking my neck. I felt like I was slowly being suffocated. "Zachary, this is making me uncomfortable, can you stop please?" I was practically begging him. I struggled underneath him, but I was too small to push him off.

"Relax, Annabeth you'll enjoy it." Enjoy it? Enjoy _it_? Enjoy what? I began to panic and hyperventilate, but he just thought I was enjoying myself. I could feel my eyes lining with tears. "Zachary, I'm not ready, please I don't like this." He quickly bent down and grabbed the hem of my shirt. Then he ripped it off of me with ease. I was revolted. Was I being raped? Was this what was happening right now? I continued to struggle under him as he started trailing his mouth down to my chest. "Zachary stop, I can't do this today!"

He slipped off one of my straps. "Zachary stop!" He ignored me and without even blinking, reached behind my back and unclipped my bra. I watched horrified as he threw it to his side without even looking. "Please, stop please Zachary stop!"

And then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. His phone ringing loudly. He looked irritated as he lifted himself from my half-naked body and answered the call. "What the hell is it now?" He paused. "Yeah, well I was in the middle of something… I don't really care what you need to talk to me about." Another pause. "Yeah, okay, whatever I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

He then hung up and grabbed his shirt. I sat in his bed motionless. I couldn't believe what had just happened. He walked over to his bedside table and grabbed his jacket. "I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow. And by the way, make no plans, we _will_ hang out in the afternoon." He pulled my face towards his and kissed me. "Goodbye."

And I was then left sitting on my boyfriend's bed with a blank expression on my face. I grabbed my bra and my shirt and slipped them back on quietly. I grabbed my phone and my jacket and left. I already knew where I was headed. It would really only take about thirty seconds to walk across the hallway to go to Percy's dorm.

As I reached room 818, I grew anxious. I knocked the door loudly. There was no sound from inside. I almost thought he wasn't in his dorm, but then I heard something crash and then the door open. "Wise girl, hey, what's up?" I looked at his adorable messy hair and his perky green eyes. His smile was wide and he seemed like he was in a great mood. "Can I come in?" my voice was soft. He nodded and I stepped in his dorm. I then saw that the lamp from his nightstand was sprawled on the floor. I almost cracked a smile. "So what's up? Did you come to work on the project now? I thought we were working tomorrow before rehearsals?" He looked at my face and his fell. "What's wrong? What's going on? Did someone do something to you?" My eyes were clouding quickly. I felt like the walls were closing in on me. Just glancing at the dorm beds reminded me of what happened just minutes ago. And then I couldn't help it. I broke down right in front of him. He didn't even hesitate to envelop me in his arms. You'd think that I'd be extremely uncomfortable considering the situation, but it made me feel great to know that he would be there to comfort me. I was sobbing uncontrollably and I couldn't contain myself. He stroked my hair slowly and I gripped onto him tightly. I pulled away after what seemed like forever. "Annabeth, what's going on?" He led me over to his couch and sat me down. I let out a breath. "If you don't want to tell me you don't have to."

"No, It's fine." I paused. "I-I was going over to Zachary's dorm because he wanted to talk to me…. So, once he let me in we talked and things were going well…. And then he got mad. He told me he loved me, and… and then he… he started kissing me. And I-I felt uncomfortable and I told him that I didn't want to do anything, but he wasn't listening to me, and he took my bra off and I didn't want to do anything but he was ignoring me he didn't care and I-"

"Are you… Are you trying to tell me that he raped you?" Before I could even get a word out he started pacing. "Are you trying to tell me that that son of a bitch raped you? He raped you? He fucking _raped_ you? Is that what you're saying? Oh gods. What the hell did he do to you. Did he hurt you, did he hit you? Did he tie you up? We need to call the police right now. I swear to all the gods out there I will fucking kill him. I will personally rip off his nonexistent dick so he will never abuse another woman ever again. I want to rip his body apart. I want to smash his face into a wall until it is unrecognizable. I can't believe this right now. "

"Percy, he didn't rape me." He stilled and stared at me. "He… He took my bra off. He saw me half-naked. And then he had to leave because his phone rang and he was meeting someone. He… was going to if he hadn't gotten that call. He told me not to make plans with anyone because we were going to hang out tomorrow. He didn't even give me a choice."

I was crying again. Percy cupped my face in his hands and ran his thumb over my tears. "You listen to me Annabeth. That asshole doesn't have any rights over you. You always have a choice. You don't have to listen to him, you don't belong to him, and you're not his slave. Okay? And there is no way in hell I'm letting you get near him not now not tomorrow not ever. I'm not going to let him even glance at you after this. After rehearsal tomorrow, you're coming over here. Not to Thalia's because he'll go look for you. Just tell him rehearsals don't end till later and you can't hang out. I don't want to see you get hurt and refuse to do so. That son of a bitch is going to get a piece of my mind."

He headed for the door, but I quickly grabbed him and stopped him. "Percy. It's getting late. I don't want you to start any new arguments with Zachary today. Listen we can deal with this tomorrow. I know that I sound like I'm belittling it, but I just don't have the energy to face Zachary right now. I can't look at him, and this subject makes me upset."

Percy looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it. I couldn't believe how my day was going. I didn't even get raped, I was close to it. If I felt this horrible and I wasn't even fully violated, I didn't even want to imagine what women who were actually raped and abused felt like. I shivered at the thought. I was just about to ask Percy if I could crash here tonight when he stopped me. "Annabeth, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but would you mind staying here tonight? I want to be able to know you're alright." I cracked a smile and nodded.

"But first, I have to go get some stuff from my dorm." I headed towards the door but he stopped me. "I'll drive you over. I'm sticking by your side Wise girl." And he did.

"Okay, I'll be back in a couple minutes, just gotta grab some things." Percy nodded and I hopped out of the car. I unlocked my dorm door and was surprised to see that the lights were on. It was a Friday night…. Thalia would never be home on a Friday night. As I entered the room, I started noticing things that weren't really making sense to me. There were snickers bars littered across the bedroom floor, and a couple white boxes spread around. There was a jumbo gallon of Hawaiian punch, which Thalia hates, sitting on Thalia's bed, and the bathroom light was shining bright. I slowly walked over to the open bathroom door and made my way in. What I saw shocked me.

Thalia was sitting on the white toilet staring at a stick. But I knew what that stick really was. Her eyes seemed to bore into the stick. She wasn't even showing a reaction. She was just staring. "Thalia?" No response. As I got closer I could see that the hand she was using to hold the 'stick' was shaking a bit. I walked behind her and looked at what the pregnancy test said. A bright pink plus sign was clearly visible. My mouth almost fell. "Thalia…." She finally looked up at me. "I'm…. A sophomore. A sophomore, Annabeth. I'm pregnant as a sophomore. I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant oh gods." I suddenly looked around and realized that the test she was holding in her hands wasn't the only one. There were several of them lying on the bathroom floor, all with a pink plus sign.

I almost cried. My best friend was expecting. "Thalia… who's baby are you expecting?" Her voice was barely above a whisper when she responded. "It's… It's Nico's. This baby is Nico's." I texted Percy and told him to wait for me. I was obviously going to be here a while. "I'm pregnant." She repeated. I pried the test out of her hands and shoved it in the trash. "I know Thalia." She looked like she was going to cry. "Look it's okay. Thalia, no one will know for months, and having a baby is a precious thing." "I'm a fucking sophomore! I shouldn't be expecting."

I paused. I didn't want to tell her that not having sex would've avoided all this because that seemed rude and unjust to say. "Thalia, it's okay." She looked up at me with sad eyes. "Promise me you won't say anything to anyone about this." I nodded. I spent the next half an hour comforting her. When I finally got her to calm down I grabbed my stuff and headed for the car. I told her that she couldn't change the fact that she was pregnant now. She was expecting a baby and she could not change that in anyway. I told her that it's a blessing to have a baby and to not stress about it. And then I told her that Nico would be extremely happy to know this. After I finished comforting her, she looked extremely happy, so I told her I had to go. I thought about all of this on the ride back to Percy's dorm.

As I walked in, he turned on the lights. I was already in my pajamas since I had decided to change while I was at the dorm. I set my bag down and turned to Percy. He stared at me and smiled. Then he rushed up to me and picked me up by my waist. "Perce!" he set me down on his bed and then grabbed a thick blanket. I turned the TV on while he repositioned himself in the bed.

" So what do you want to watch today, Seaweed brain?" He smirked.

"Your adorable face." I laughed. "Please, what adorable face." He stared at me.

"Eh, You're right." I let my mouth fall. "Wow, Perce, thanks for sugarcoating it." He laughed. "Okay, how about we watch _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_?" I rolled my eyes at him. " Fine, we can watch that." He smiled as I scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I grinned to myself and set my head on his chest. Today had been the longest day ever, and tomorrow couldn't get any worse than today, right? Wrong.

**AN: I felt like I could've done more for Thalia's pregnancy reveal, but I don't know... Anyway, review for me please? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed! P.S: Something important will be happening in this chapter. Just a warning. **

Annabeth's POV:

"Do you blame it? Where I'm from, the only person you find behind bars is the town drunk."

"It's no different there. There's just more of us."

"How long you think they'll keep us?"

"Overnight. Unless you got a hairpin. I've a knack for breaking and entering."

"Misspent youth?"

"Eighteen years on Long Island. If that ain't misspent, I don't know what is."

"CUT." Percy and I whipped our heads towards Mrs. Treble. The rest of the cast was spread around in the auditorium watching us intently. We had just been rehearsing the scene where Millie and Jimmy end up in jail together.

"Percy, I need you to give me more of a New Yorker accent when you're asking Millie for a hairpin and talking about your misspent childhood. Remember that you're in New York in 1922. You _need_ an accent. Annabeth, I need more curiosity from your part. When you ask him questions, it needs to sound like you're deeply curious. You guys got it?"

And that was what we worked on for the first hour of our five-hour rehearsal. After hour two, I felt like dyeing. Since I was the lead, I was in the majority of the scenes. Now, rehearsal was finally over and, I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open for one second. I was leaning all over Percy. He had his arm wrapped around my shoulders and I had mine wrapped around his midsection. It was extremely comfortable.

He chuckled deeply. "Sleepy?" I replied with a groan. It'd been a month since the Zachary incident. I hadn't seen him since then because he's been busy and I've just been plainly avoiding him. Percy grabbed me by midsection and threw me across his back. "You better not be sleepy, tonight's our project night. Nico's out with his girlfriend tonight so we have the place all to ourselves. Knowing him, he won't be coming back till tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. "Stop saying 'his girlfriend'. I know it's Thalia." He almost dropped me.

"How do you know that?" I almost laughed. "Thalia told me herself a couple weeks back." He stayed silent. "I don't know why it was a secret.." He sighed. "Honestly, I don't know either. But Thalia's been acting kinda weird lately. She threw up the other day in the hallway trashcan, and she was carrying around a snickers bar during second period. Doesn't she hate snickers bars? And she's also been really moody." I stayed quiet. We neared his dorm and I watched him pull out his keys to unlock the door. When he walked in, he set me down on his bed and I stretched my body out like a cat.

"You're not going to sleep Annabeth. We have a project to do." I groaned. "Just five minutes, Percy." "Oh no you don't." He set down his computer next to me and then squeezed my sides. "Ugh, Percy…." I opened my eyes and glared at him. "I promise you can crawl into my bed and snuggle up after we finish our work on the project today. Okay?" He stared at me and smiled. "What?" I questioned grumpily. "I just think your pouty face is cute." I laughed as he handed me a cup full of pumpkin spice ice cream. "Well thank you, Mr. Jackson." "Not a problem, Mrs. Chase. But you know…. You're eating the last of the pumpkin ice cream. I love pumpkin ice cream. Maybe, after you're done with it, you could give me a taste?"

My eyes were now wide open. I got my face as close to his as possible and smirked. Then I slowly stuck a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. "Mmm…." I licked my lips and watched his reaction. Then I fell back down to my original position. "Gods, I hate you Chase." I laughed. "Feelings are mutual Jackson. Besides, you'll get to try some later anyway." This caught his attention because he locked eyes with me. "What exactly do you mean?" I sat up and leaned against his headboard. "Remember? We agreed to work on the kissing scene today? Millie and Jimmy?" His face was conflicted. He sat up in the bed and moved over to sit next to me. "Right. Sorry I forgot." There was an awkward silence filling the air. Then I grabbed the laptop sitting on his lap.

"Tell me about yourself Jackson. Your hopes, dreams, your dirty fetishes." He laughed. "Dirty fetishes? Eh… That information is reserved for girls who are actually willing to get laid by me." I rolled my eyes at him. "Dreams? Well….. I wanna be a marine biologist. I love the water and sea life and anything to do with the ocean. I've never told anyone this, but one of the major reasons that I want to become a marine biologist, is because it makes me feel closer to my dad."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?" He looked uneasy and uncomfortable. "My dad, Poseidon, he uh left about a month after I stopped talking to you. He was um going on an oversea voyage and he never came back. He was reported MIA. I haven't seen him since. He was a marine biologist too, and I guess, if I can't have him here, I'll still have him with me if I follow into his profession. It just… It would make me feel closer to him. Not having a fatherly figure there really upset me." I felt horrible for even bringing it up. "I'm so sorry, Percy." I crawled over to him and wrapped my arms around him. We stayed there for about a minute.

"Hey Wise girl?"

"Hmm?"

"I really like the position we're in."

I slapped him and went back to sitting down. "So, what's the thing you're most scared of?" He chuckled. "A girl named Annabeth Chase." I smiled." And what's your favorite hobby?" He pretended to think. " Hmm…. I love swimming. But I think my favorite hobby ever would be beating cocky blonde girls at swordplay."

My eyes narrowed. "Is this a challenge?" His eyebrows raised daringly. "Maybe it is. I have wooden swords in my closet." I stopped. "Why do you have swords in your closet?" He smiled. "Memories from camp." He reached in to his closet and then threw me a sword. I caught without even blinking.

"Are we doing this here?" He stared at me. "Of course we are. I thought you were wise, Annabeth." My eyes narrowed and I lunged at him before he could understand what was happening. Unfortunately, just at the last minute his sword connected with mine. He backed up a bit. It kept going back and forth for a while, until one time when I looked up into his eyes, I got distracted. He took his chance and knocked me down. He ended up tackling me onto his bed. I was breathing heavily and I broke a bit of a sweat. "That was so much fun." He rolled off of me. "Looks like the unbeatable Annabeth Chase just got beaten." I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever, Perce. I just know I haven't had that much fun since camp." He laughed. "Yeah, me neither." He paused. "You know if anybody actually heard you breathing, they'd think we just finished having sex." I turned to look at him. "What is it with you and sexual innuendoes?" He smirked. "Why, does it bother you?" Instead of answering, I bent over into his drawer and grabbed one of his shirts. I was already wearing yoga pants so I'd just put them back on. "Listen, I'm gonna take a quick shower, we'll work on the kissing scene after I shower, cool?" He nodded and then I headed to the shower.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I'm ready to do the scene!" I threw my dirty clothes in my backpack and plopped myself down on the bed. Then I realized Percy was staring at me. "What?" He shook his head. "I.. Sorry, I just forgot how you looked with your curly hair." I blushed. Usually, when I washed my hair, I would quickly blow-dry it and then straighten it. I never really left it curly because of the bullying from long ago. I didn't straighten my hair this time though. I brought all my stuff, but I just didn't think I needed to. I didn't feel like I needed to hide from Percy. "I'm sorry, does it look horrible?" He walked over. "No, of course not. It looks way better. I love it like this. This is the real you." I smiled. "Do you want to start the scene now?" He nodded and we got up and positioned ourselves in the middle of his dorm.<p>

Something was tugging at the back of my mind and I couldn't help but ask him. "Hey, Percy?" He looked up. "Yes?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "You never told me what your hopes were when I asked you." He smirked. "My true hope at the moment is that this kiss isn't completely horrible."

My eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I kiss bad?" He looked like he was enjoying this. "Hm, I wouldn't know because I've never been kissed by you." I let out a frustrated breath. "Are you saying you think this kiss will be bad?" "That's exactly what I'm saying." I pursed my lips. "If anything, you'll be the one to ruin the kiss." He laughed. "Is that so?" I nodded. "Yes! And I'll have you know, I'm a fantastic kisser." "I wouldn't know because again, never kissed you. Why do you care so much about what I said?" He paused then put on a smug smile. "Do you want this kiss to be real?" I'm pretty confident that the look on my face was bewildered. "Uh, no." "Then what I said shouldn't matter. I'm not gonna care if you're a disgusting kisser, which you probably are."

He was tempting me I knew he was, but the logical side of my brain wasn't on at the moment. "I'm not!" "Well I wouldn't know. Besides this kiss doesn't count, it's a stage kiss. It doesn't mean anything. So you won't be proving how great of a kisser you are unless you give me a real kiss." I stomped my foot. "Like you even know what a real kiss is!" He crossed his arms. "Well show me what a real kiss is then!"

I stepped forward. " This is a real kiss." I brought his head down towards mine. I kissed him with so much force that I thought I might pass out. And it was the best kiss I'd ever had in my life. It got even better when he kissed me back. My lips felt like electricity was coursing through them. Unlike Zachary's kisses, Percy's were full of passion and they didn't feel empty. I felt him wrap his strong arms around my waist. It was almost a minute later until I realized that one kiss turned into the beginning of a make out session.

I pulled away shocked at what was happening. He held on to me. "Annabeth, you don't know how long I've had to hold myself back from just kissing you in the middle of no where." I looked up at him dumbfound. His voice sounded husky. "Please, don't stop." I shook my head. "I-I can't. I'm still dating Zachary. I'm not an unfaithful person." I pulled away from his grasp and looked at him. "Annabeth…. What has Zachary been doing in your benefit lately? You guys haven't seen each other in weeks. He doesn't appreciate you." He stepped closer to me.

"Does Zachary make you feel the way I do?" I avoided his gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about." Step. "Really? So right now you're not anxious to admit the fact that I make you question your entire relationship with Zachary?" "I-You don't." Step. "Does Zachary make you feel nervous to admit your feelings?" "You don't" He pulled me to him. "Tell me the truth. Has Zachary ever made you feel the way you feel right now?" His breath tickled my neck and I almost melted right into his arms. "No." It was almost inaudible, but he heard it. He bent his neck down to where his nose was touching my neck. "So if I kissed you right now would you pull away?" He murmured into my neck. His lips grazed my neck and chills erupted all up and down my spine. "No."

He closed the gap between us and my body molded into his almost instantly. He wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped mine around his neck. He kissed me so hard my lips hurt, but I didn't even care. We were devouring each other, and much like our arguments, our lips refused to give up the war. We wanted to be superior to each other even when it came to this. I let out a sigh into his lips and felt him smile against mine. The taste of pumpkin lingered between our lips and I willed and wished and prayed that our bodies could get closer to each other. My heart was beating a million beats a minute and it was only getting faster. I could feel his breathing from his stomach being pressed up against mine. Pleasure filled my very being, covering me from head to toe and I wanted more. I wasn't satisfied with this, even though it felt like heaven on earth. I wanted more than this.

As if reading my thoughts, he picked me up swiftly and carried me to his bed. He carefully set me down, making sure I was comfortable before finding my lips again. I lifted up the hem of his shirt and he got the hint. He removed his shirt rapidly and then brought his mouth back to mine. I let out an involuntary moan against his lips. I ran my hands up and down his back then set them on his chest. He pulled away slowly and stared at me.

"I hate you Jackson." He smirked while kneading circles into my back. I let out a small whimper and he put on a satisfied smile. "Do you really hate me?" "Oh shut up." I whispered fiercely. I sat up and then removed my own shirt. I caught him staring and smiled. "Like what you see?" He cupped my face in his hands and brought it towards his own. "Not as much as I like what I've been seeing for months now, Wise girl." He kissed me quickly. "Gods, you're so perfect." His voice sounded deep, sincere, and trustworthy. He planted butterfly kisses along my jawline and then trailed down to my neck. I let out a loud breath and heard him chuckle deeply.

"Enjoying yourself?" "Shush Jackson." As he got closer to my chest, the kisses became slower and then completely stopped before I even had the chance to reach back and unhook my bra. I stared at him. "What's wrong?" He locked eyes with me. "Are you sure this is okay, Annabeth? I don't want to bring you bad memories…" I instantly knew what he was talking about. "The fact that you're asking me if I'm comfortable is conformation enough for me Percy. As much as I hate to let you win and be right…. I have to admit that I want this just as much as you do. This is better than okay." He smirked. " So I'm right?" I rolled my eyes at him and reached behind my back to unhook my bra. I suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't care. I won't care. You're perfect." I stared into his perfect green eyes and was met with the most sincere smile I'd ever seen. I threw my bra to the side and kissed him. Then he continued his way down my chest all the way down to my stomach. I unbuttoned his pants as he did mine and then, only a small line of fabric separated us. I slid my underwear off slowly and held onto his neck as pulled his boxers down. I chuckled. "Having trouble?" He threw them on the floor. "Not anymore." He hovered above me and I felt like dyeing. He looked up at me as if asking for permission and I let my head fall in response. With one last look, he slid in.

When I woke up the next morning, I smiled to myself. Percy and I were both delicately tucked under the sheets, his arms wrapped around my bare skin. I snuggled up against him and I heard him yawn. He'd put his boxers back on in the night, but I was still completely naked. I turned towards Percy and he met me with a smile.

* * *

><p>"Good morning Wise girl." I set my head on his chest. "Good morning Seaweed brain." He ran his thumb across my cheek. "I'm surprised you didn't lose your voice." I furrowed my brow. "Huh? Why would I?" He smirked. "Because you screamed Percy so many times last night I thought you might go mute." I rolled my eyes. "Gee, way to ruin my morning." He planted a kiss on my forehead. "Just joking." He paused. "Last night was the best night of my life." I kissed him. "Mine too." He chuckled. "I knew you wanted to get laid by me." "Oh, shut up Percy!" I put my head back down on his chest and closed my eyes. It was blissful. Until Nico burst in through the doorway.<p>

"Percy, stop putting the lock on the door!" He looked at the scene before him and his eyes literally popped out of his head. "Okay, so THIS time you really DID fuck! Ugh, did you clean up after yourself? This is fucking revolting." Percy kissed me sloppily and Nico pretended to throw up. "I'll just leave you to do whatever it is you're planning on doing now…." He walked out and we busted out laughing. Percy's eyes locked with mine and I smiled at him. "You know you actually look really cute like this." I blushed. "And by the way, yes, you definitely showed me what a real kiss is." "Oh you bet I did." He rolled his eyes. "So…. Wanna go for round two?" I scoffed and smacked him. "Only, in your wildest dreams." It was his turn to scoff. "Oh trust me, I don't think it'll be just in my dreams."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well... What do you think?! It took me forever to write this chapter, but I'm kind of proud of it. Review for me? I need criticism? Is it good? Bad? I'll never know if you don't tell me!-ShyGal<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Thanks to Teagan, Percabeth9, Guest, and Rocket99 for reviewing my last chapter! **

**By the way, I'd just like to clear up something. Goode is a private school, as it includes dorms, so it's an away school. That's why they have to travel home. **

Annabeth's POV:

" I can not believe you had sex with my cousin…" was the sentence I heard for the umpteenth time spill out of Thalia's mouth. I covered my head with my pillow. After Nico had revealed what happened to Thalia, she wouldn't shut up about it.

"Ugh, Thalia, I get it. You're upset I had sex with your cousin. Can we move on to a different conversation?" She rolled her eyes over her snickers bar and opened her mouth to say something but at that precise moment, there was a gentle knock on the door. I trudged over to the door and was met with Piper's ever-changing peppy eyes.

"Hey Anniebugaboo." I frowned while she smirked. Anniebugaboo was my childhood nickname. See, Thalia, Rachel, Piper, and I had all grown up together. We met in kindergarten when Thalia kicked me in the shins. Thalia thought I wouldn't retaliate, but surely enough, I also kicked her in the shins. We instantly became best friends. Rachel was already friends with Piper, Piper was already friends with me, and Rachel was already friends with Thalia. We were all bound to become friends at some point.

"Hey Pipsqueak." The smirk fell from her face and I laughed. She shoved me and walked through the door followed by Rachel. They then proceeded to plop themselves down on the couch.

"So…. I heard you banged Jackson." I shoved my face in my hands as Piper snickered at Rachel's statement. "By the way, I love your hair today. That high ponytail definitely works for your face." I rolled my eyes at her. "I didn't bang Jackson. If anything, he banged me." They looked at me expectantly.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Haven't any of you had sex before?" Thalia laughed. "Obviously I have." Her laugh was sad and bitter. She wasn't very happy about how things had turned out for her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Thalia's house sat silently in front of us. It was precisely 5:17 in the afternoon. Thalia and I were, at the moment, parked in her driveway. I gripped her hand tightly and she looked up at me, her eyes lining with tears. "Thalia, it's gonna be okay. I'm going to be with you every step of the way. I'll be there to support you. You can do this." _

_She nodded at me and with that, we stepped out of the car. As we neared the door, the air seemed to thicken. Hesitantly, she knocked the door. Mrs. Grace greeted us with her welcoming smile and big brown eyes. "Thalia! Oh, I've missed you so much sweetheart! I haven't seen you in forever!" She wrapped Thalia in a hug and stroked her hair. Then she turned to me. "Oh, Annabeth, how much you've grown! I haven't seen you since you were a little 12 year old." I smiled. "Well, come in!" _

_The house was mostly quiet. There was a ding from the kitchen and a resounding, "Kathy who's there?". The voice was deep, and masculine, and strangely familiar. Even though I'd been to Thalia's house countless times, I had actually never met Thalia's father. We walked into the living room to find a man sitting on a recliner. He had Thalia's same electrifying blue eyes, but that's where the similarities stopped. Thalia always did look more like her mother. Mrs. Grace's cascading black locks and her fair complexion reminded me of Thalia so much, it was like looking at a picture of her. Mr. Grace was tan and had curly light blonde hair, the exact opposite of Thalia. As I met Mr. Grace's eyes, his widened and almost looked horrified. I was now more positive than ever before that this man was somehow familiar to me. Had I seen him somewhere? _

_He quickly recovered and averted my eyes. Instead he got up and welcomed Thalia. "Hey Pumpkin, what are you doing home? And who's your friend?" Thalia shifted and sat down on the edge of one of the couches. "This is Annabeth Chase. She's my best friend, I've known her since kindergarten." He slowly got up and approached me. I was almost scared. He then wrapped his arms around me and sobbed. He stroked my hair slowly. "Our house is your house. Welcome home, Annabeth. I love you so much." _

"_Dad! What are you doing to her?!" He continued sobbing into my shirt. He pulled away and gripped my face tightly, running his fingers across my cheeks. "You're so beautiful." "Dad, what are you doing?!" When he let me go, I took a glance at , and she was sitting there speechless. I was timid to ask him anything considering what just happened, but I had to._

" _Mr. Grace?" He looked up from where he was sitting with his head in his hands. "Yes, sweetheart?" My face went blank. Sweetheart? "A-Are you okay?" This seemed to make him cry even more. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm the happiest man alive." I did not understand anything that was occurring at the moment. "Her?" Mrs. Grace asked. Mr. Grace nodded. Mrs. Grace's face was grim. She nodded stiffly. I sat down slowly and watched in curiosity. "Is there something we should know?" Thalia asked sitting beside me. _

_Mr. Grace shook his head swiftly at Mrs. Grace. They apparently came to an agreement. "No, Thalia. I'm sorry Annabeth, I just get very… close to visitors. I love all of my daughter's friends as if they were my own children. Please forgive me." I nodded still confused. Mrs. Grace cleared her throat as if to change the subject. _

"_So, Thalia honey, what brings you back home?" I could already see Thalia's eyes welling up with tears. I held her hand in mine and squeezed tightly. "It's okay." I whispered. She nodded. _

"_Mom. Dad. I… I have to tell you something important." Mrs. Grace looked concerned, as did Mr. Grace. "What is it honey? You know you can tell us anything, Thalia." Mrs. Grace sounded sincere and truthful. "I… I'm… I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant." I gripped her hand in mine and nodded. The whole room stilled. Nothing could be heard. _

_And then all Hades broke loose. Mrs. Grace was the first to recuperate from her shock. "Is this because of that emo kid?" Thalia's mouth fell. "That 'kid' has a name, it's Nico, and he's not emo!" She scoffed. "And long how have you and 'Nico' been together?" Thalia stomped. "Two years mother! I've been with him since eigth grade! I even brought him over once and you met him! You just never pay attention because you don't give one fuck what goes on in my life! That's why you shipped me away!"_

"_Wait, hold on, you've been with Nico for two years?" Thalia looked over at me and realized her mistake. "Why didn't you tell me this?" She almost looked clement. "I-" Mrs. Grace cut her off. "I do care about you Thalia! I just can't believe that you would let that disgusting boy take advantage of you like that!" _

"_He didn't mother! This was my choice! I chose to have sex with him! In fact, he actually told me no, and that we shouldn't. He was protesting the entire time! I was the one who forced him into this! It was my mistake and I'm going to be mature and take responsibility for my actions! Don't blame him! He's not disgusting! He cares about me so much, he's always been there for me. He's so protective over me and I know he's going to stand right by my side through out this entire pregnancy." _

_At that moment, Thalia's phone rang loudly. She grabbed it and smiled. "This is him right now actually." She pressed the call button and then the speaker. "Hello?" _

"_**Thals? I'm… I'm at your parent's door. I'm going to tell them. I don't want you to get in trouble. I want them to know that I'm not going to let you go through this alone." **_

"_You're here?" _

"_**Wait, you're at your parents right now?" **_

_Thalia ran to the door and flung it open. Sure enough, Nico was standing there in the cold. Hesitantly, he made his way into the living room. He walked over to Mr. Grace, who was still speechless, and shook his hand. He did the same to Mrs. Grace, who sniffed at him. He sat down next to Thalia and glanced at me, obviously surprised I was there. Then he set his hands on his lap. _

"_Listen, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I love Thalia. I love her with everything I have, and if I had the choice right now, I'd propose to her right this instant. She means the world to me. I know that right now, you guys don't have the right impression of me because you think I took your daughter's innocence away-" "You did." Mrs. Grace cut in. _

_Nico turned crimson, but continued his speech. "I know you guys believe that, and I take full responsibility for it, but please give me a chance to prove myself. I am a great guy. Like I said, I love your daughter. I'd die for her. She means everything to me. And I'm not going to leave her. I'm going to be with her every step of the way. I swear it. I will never leave her. I know that making love to your daughter was wrong and a mistake especially without protection, but this baby isn't. I refuse to believe that this beautiful little creature is a mistake. If this happened, it happened for a reason. I love this baby and I haven't even seen the ultrasound. I will love your daughter for the rest of my life, and I'll love our son or daughter just as much. My love for Thalia is immense. I'm here to tell you that I won't leave her. I'll be there. I'll be there for her forever." Mr. Grace finally snapped out of his trance. He slowly walked up to Nico. I could see Nico practically trembling in fear. Then, Mr. Grace did the unexpected. He shook Nico's hand. Nico looked bewildered but shook his hand back. _

"_You have a lot of courage. You came up here to our house, not knowing Thalia was already here, so you could face her parents' wrath. That means something to me, Nico. You've made it clear that you love my daughter. Everyone makes mistakes. I know I did." He glanced at me when he said that. "I expect you to keep your word and stay with Thalia through this journey. I want her to be able to rely on someone, she can't do this alone. I expect you to be at every single doctor's appointment. You will help buying baby supplies, though that won't be much of a problem for you guys because Kathy and I will be providing most of your baby supplies. We already have a crib from when Thalia was a baby. But we'll buy diapers, clothes, formula, bottles-" _

"_I never agreed to this." Mrs. Grace cut in. Mr. Grace turned to her. "Kathy please. He's proven himself. We need to be there for our daughter." She looked upset, but conceded. "If Thalia wants to be able to stay at her dorm, she'll have to drop of the baby in the morning so we can take care of her while she's at school. But I don't recommend that. Thalia, I think it'd be best if you moved back home. You'd still be able to go to Goode, we'd just have to drive you. This way you could still spend time with the baby." Thalia nodded. He turned to Thalia. _

"_I'll always love you, no matter what. I'm going to be positive about this pregnancy even though I feel like a vein is going to pop out." Thalia let out a watery smile and hugged Mr. Grace. Then she walked over to her mother. They both burst out crying. "I love you so much Thalia. I care so much, please never forget that. Please. I'll be with you every step of the way. We'll go through this together." Her mom said through racking sobs. Thalia nodded. And after that we left. _

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><p>"Oh come on Thalia. Your parents were actually calmer than I thought they would be." She shrugged. "Yeah I guess. But for my father's sake, I hope you and Percy used protection." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why would he care?" She busted out laughing "He thinks of you as a second daughter, did you not see him cry when we came over?" It was my turn to shrug. Piper stared at me. "What do you want Pipes?" She rolled her eyes at me. "Well, if you're going to get it on with my ex, I'd like to hear about it Annie." I smirked at her. "Jealous or something?"<p>

"Yeah, Pipes, jealous?" Rachel stepped in. "Oh calm down Rachel. I'm so over him. Now give us the dirty details." I laughed. "There wasn't really anything that dirty. He seduced me, we took our clothes off, and we had sex. That's about it. There was no foreplay at all, we just got straight down to it." Thalia smirked. "Was he good?" Was the response from Piper and Thalia. Rachel just looked plain bored. "It was absolutely perfect. Geez, he's… Agh. God of sex. Not only was it amazing, it was also really romantic. And it led to the best sleep I've had in centuries." I fell back on my bed thinking back to that night.

"So…What happened with Zachary?" I stiffened. "I…. I'm leaving him. I still feel really guilty about cheating on him." I hadn't told them about what he did to me. "Yeah, that's really unlike you." I looked over at Piper and let out a sigh. "Zachary and I don't click. His kisses are empty and mean nothing. When I kissed Percy…. I felt so alive. It was passionate."

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><p>"I'm coming!" I snickered as he opened the door. Automatically, he set a smirk on his face. "Wise girl." He moved aside and I stepped through the door. I plopped myself down on his couch and he quickly moved to my side. He looked at me and leaned back in his couch. "Did you come for round two?" My face set into a frown instantly.<p>

"Is that all you really want me for? A sex toy?" He grabbed my shoulders. "Annabeth, what's going on? You know I'm just kidding around. You mean the world to me, I thought I made that clear." I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset. I still feel guilty about cheating on Zachary. I don't cheat on people. I feel like it was a mistake." He caught my eye and I instantly felt bad for saying that. He looked so upset and heartbroken. "You think it was a mistake? It was the best night of my life, Annabeth. How can you say that to me? I will never forget the way you looked, how you felt, how beautiful you still are and always will be. It will never be considered a mistake to me, Annabeth."

My face heated and I swear I almost cried. "No, Percy, that's not what I meant to say. It was incredible for me too. I… It was perfect, Percy. And you made it great for me. It's just the guilt is eating away at me from the inside. I don't think I can be near you until I go talk to Zachary." He nodded and stroked my cheek as I stared into his deep sea-green eyes. Little flicks of amber and gold swam around with some blue. He made me wanna melt into his arms. "Damn it, Percy." I pulled his face to mine. It was such a sweet collision. It was even better than the first time. His lips fit into mine like a puzzle piece. I pulled back slowly. He smiled at me. "Go talk Zachary. Please. You being in my room right now is too tempting." I smirked. "Will do." I started to get up, but he pulled me back down. "Wait not yet." I laughed.

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><p>I was nervous as hell to talk to Zachary. I was not going to seat foot in his dorm today. I knocked the door to his dorm and he quickly opened it. "Bethy! Hey, come in!" I smiled at him, but stayed still. "Um, it's fine, I think I'll stay out here." His eyes narrowed. "No, I insist, please come in." I shook my head. "No, I don't plan on staying." He stared at me angrily. "Then why are you here?" I stiffened. " I… don't think this is working out Zachary. I don't feel a connection anymore. I want to break up." He stared at me for what seemed like the longest, then grabbed my arm and pulled me into his dorm. He pinned me up against his dorm. "You want to break up?" I nodded frightened.<p>

He threw me against the side of the bed and my side hit the corner of the bed frame. Pain erupted all throughout my side. He grabbed me by my shirt and brought me close to him. "This is because of Percy isn't it." I pushed myself away from him. "No, it's because you almost raped me last time I came over Zachary!" he laughed. "You think that was rape? I'll show you rape Annabeth." That word alone caused a chilling effect in the air. "You can't do this to me Zachary! You can't ju-" he slapped me across the face.

My bright reed cheek stung and burned. "I can do whatever the fuck I please, Annabeth." He laughed. "You wanna know exactly why Percy dumped sand on you in fifth grade?" I stayed silent while tears slid down my cheeks. "He was being threatened. By me. I told him that if he didn't, I'd make sure you paid for it. I wanted you all to myself. You should've listened to Percy when he warned you about me. All I wanted was your body Annabeth. Ultimately, he was protecting you. But look where we are now. You're paying for it. And so is someone else close to his heart." He grabbed me. "Now you listen to me and listen good. If I don't get what I want from you, Percy's going to suffer. I don't fucking care if you call the police Annabeth. It won't work. I will find a way to get his blood to run through my fingers. Now be a good girl and stay still, or your little boyfriend's neck will be snapped."

I was sobbing at this point. He ripped my shirt off of my body and the cold surrounded me. There was nothing left except to wait for what was coming. That's the thought that ran through my mind as Zachary slowly unbuckled his belt.

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><p><strong>Well? What do you think? Review?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: This chapter is dedicated to the guest suggested a good idea about the following chapter( Percy barging in). You know who you are :) **** Thanks to those who reviewed! By the way, I feel like the beginning of this chapter might seem a little confusing so I'll just say that it starts right where we left off last chapter. **

Annabeth's POV:

I felt some pressure on my arm as I looked away from Zachary's menacing face and thought, I should look over and see what's going on, but then the thought was gone, sliding away like butter off a hot car hood. I don't know what happened in the next twenty minutes, but all thoughts about fighting back absconded my mind. "Oh, look, the lights are so pretty," I said dreamily, having just noticed the scintillating colors of the lights in Zachary's room.

I could hear chuckling in the background, but I was suddenly too fatigued to try to look for the source. I smiled at the way the lights were dancing overhead, changing from soft baby pink to a deep ocean blue. Blue… Like Percy's eyes. But that's not right. His eyes are green. Maybe they have a little blue in them? Or do they have green in them? Oh! If I could just see them now I could have my answer. I looked up at a face, I couldn't remember who's, and was instantly disappointed.

"You're not Percy." I could feel a pout forming on my face. The face contorted in anger and then I could feel a faint numbness on my left cheek. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard in the room. Or at least I think it was a bang. Maybe a slam. I think. The face looked away from me, and then a weight was lifted off my small frame. I heard lots of loud noises around. Some were grunt-like. Others were swearing. And then, a different face looked down at me. I giggled like a schoolgirl.

" That's the color! Your eyes look like Percy's!" The new face stared at me for about three seconds, then grabbed me. I saw a flash of red from somewhere and then I finally blacked out.

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><p>I felt like I just woke up after a hangover. My head was throbbing, my throat was dry, and I wanted to blow chunks. I let out a parched cough and tried to sit up on whatever I was lying on. Instantly, my head felt fuzzy. My vision was blurry, but I tried to make my surroundings clearer. I could hear sniffling from somewhere near, and not even a second after I sat up, green eyes were staring at me, deep concern showing through. They were bloodshot and frightened, with a hint of panic.<p>

"Are you okay? Did I get there in time? Did he touch you?" Percy bombarded me with questions. His eyes were glistening with tears. "He raped you because of me. If I hadn't let you go alone…. My mom called me. She said Zoë fell in the bathtub and hit her head against the faucet. She had to go get stitches. I… She's my sister. But she was okay. She was already in the hospital. I shouldn't have gone. By the time I got back, you were already nude on his bed… It's my fault. I should've stayed and gone with you. I was stupid to think you wouldn't go when I literally told you to go and talk to him. He raped you because of me. He hit you and abused you because of me. I will never forgive myself for this. Oh gods." He was rambling.

I watched as he broke down in front of me. His hair was disheveled and his skin seemed paler than usual. I looked down and noticed his knuckles were bruised and redish purple Percy, the used-to-be bully was crying in front of me. I stared at him deeply, my eyes clouding almost instantly. Zoë, was Percy's life. She was the most adorable little girl, with dark chocolate hair and murky brown eyes that changed color at different angles. Percy loved his sister more than he loved blue food and hearing that she got hurt must've struck a cord for him.

I let out a breath and met his eyes. "How is she?" He looked up at me, obviously surprised at my question. "Zoë, I mean." He shook his head. "She's fine, Annabeth. The real question is how are _you_?" I coughed and chills went up my arms. "I'm…. Okay. He didn't rape me."

I tried to stand up, and he grabbed my frame and helped me up to the bathroom. I stared at myself. I had a big purplish bruise under my right eye, and my left cheek was a bright red. This could be played off. I'd just say I got jumped or something. Or maybe Piper could cover it up with make up. But right now, I looked as good as dead. I also took into account my wardrobe. I was wearing an oversized shirt that read _Team Nightshade_ on the front and _#18_ on the back. The shirt was paired with guy sweats. He looked at me sheepishly. I guess he had no time to grab my clothes.

"W-What?" I touched the bruise and winced, then wrapped my hair up in a bun. "Zachary didn't rape me. He'd just given me a date rape drug when you got there. I know this because I remember it. Usually date rape drugs give you amnesia for certain events, but I clearly remember him injecting something into my arm. He never actually got down to it." Percy let out a sigh of relief.

"Annabeth, I… I'm… You don't even know how grateful I feel right now. I will _never_ forgive myself. I left you alone. With him. I put you at risk." I shook my head and interjected. "You did what you had to do. Zoë is more important than I am. She's four, she needed her big brother." "Annabeth, if he did something to you, my world would've fallen. Zoë was in good hands already. You weren't. I should've known. I… I did this to you. I caused this, if I had just been by your side none of this would've happened!"

"It's okay Percy. You did what you had to. Zoë's your family." I know that I was in a situation where usually, you'd cry, but I was all out of tears. Strangely enough, even though I'd almost gotten raped again, I had no tears this time. He shook his head, but dropped the argument. "We have to tell Mr. Grace about this. As soon as possible, Annabeth. This is the second time." I nodded glumly.

Percy then decided to hug me, and that's when I realized why I wasn't crying. My body's response this time was worse. I could feel my body stiffen as soon as his skin made contact with mine. I felt trapped, pinned down, like there was no way out. I wanted to scream, and so I did. I screamed my lungs out. And I finally cried. I sobbed and thrashed, and struggled against Percy's arms. It was a panic attack.

"Let me go! You can't do this to me please!" I could hear my voice breaking, tears dripping down my chin, rolling down to my neck. "Annabeth! Annabeth calm down!" I punched his chest repeatedly, but I knew it didn't really hurt him. I was hyperventilating, flailing around like a mad man. I felt like a fish out of water, or a little kid having an asthma attack. He removed his arms from me, but that barely made a difference. I fell down, covering my face with my hands, my sobs racking the room. Minutes passed before I finally calmed down. Percy sat down next to me, a considerable amount of space between us now.

" I… I'm sorry Percy. I'm just… vulnerable right now. It happened again. I almost got raped, _again_. I was stupid. I should've waited for you." I wiped my eyes, choking back a sob. I looked at his heart broken face. This was my best friend. I loved him more than life. My hands shaking, I snaked them around his neck carefully. My body was trembling, but I managed to hug him without out bursting into tears or screaming.

Together, we walked over to the couch and sat down quietly. It was time. I had to know exactly what happened in fifth grade.

"Percy, I need to know the truth. Zachary said that he threatened you, and that's why you did what you did in fifth grade. What really happened?" He let out a breath and sat up. " Zachary… I never liked him. For a third grader, he seemed awfully aware of all things sex. In my eyes, he was cynical. We'd talked on the playground once. He told me he thought you were hot, and admitted to me that he had a crush on you. I got mad. I told him that you were my best friend and that he shouldn't talk about you like that. I was truly just scared that he would take my best friend away. All through third and fourth grade, he hated me. I was always around you so whenever he tried to make a move on you, I'd be in his way. I mean, you and I were an inseparable. One day, I was in the teacher's classroom during recess, getting _Gone With The Wind_ out of my bag. You bet me I couldn't read it, but I did and I wanted you to quiz me. Zachary found me and told me that you had said all these horrible things about me. He said that you said that you didn't care about me and that I was dead to you. I of course, didn't believe him, though I was pissed off. He then proceeded to threaten me and said that if I didn't stop being your friend, he would get you killed. I was a fifth grader, Annabeth. I was gullible and believed him. I didn't want you to die. I'd rather have you alive and not with me, than dead and by my side. All those years of bullying were part of my act. I thought I was protecting you, but I caused you more harm than good and then you…. Tried to off yourself. I'm sorry."

I sat there quietly. "It's…. Okay. I just wanted to know the truth." I met his deep green eyes. This was my best friend. _And just that,_ I decided. "Percy, I need to talk to you." He looked at me. "We can't be together. After this experience… I can't handle it now. I just can't. I'm too emotionally exhausted right now. I don't want to waste my time, Percy. I don't want to get hurt. " Looking at his heart-broken face made me wanna burst into tears. "Annabeth…. You can't break up with me when there was nothing to break in the first place." I was flabbergasted. I though he'd say something to convince me other wise, but apparently not.

"What do you _mean _there was nothing to break in the first place?" He managed a smirk even though his eyes were full of grief. "Annabeth, it was sex. A one night stand, if you will. And they're called one night stands because there are no strings attached. So there was no relationship, Annabeth. You can't end a relationship if there was never one in the first place." I could feel my jaw drop. "But, you said you were dying to kiss me. You said that you liked me." I said, my voice slowly getting angrier. He scoffed. "That doesn't mean there was a relationship, sweetheart. It just means that I was too stupid to realize that you wouldn't care." I shook my head. "I do care! I just can't do this right now!" " Admitting my feeling to you was a mistake, this was all a mistake, Annabeth."

"Percy, I just can't right now!" He met my eyes with a fiery gaze. "Tell me why! Stop giving me this bullshit about how you're 'emotionally exhausted'." I stayed silent. He smiled sadly. "Exactly. Look, Annabeth. Do what you want. It's your life. Go rest your emotions or whatever. Just don't do it in my dorm. I think it's best if you go back to your own."

"You're kicking me out?!" "I think it's better this way. Besides, wouldn't want to waste anymore of your time or anything, I might _hurt_ you. Sorry for being such a waste of time, Annabeth." He led me to the door and opened it, watching me step out. "And once again, I'm seriously really really sorry about what happened. I should've stayed with you. I shouldn't have left. Anyway, have a nice night." And with that, the door shut in front of me.

I looked around at the storm currently going on and cursed. I was about to start heading home when the door opened again. Percy stepped out wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. "I'll walk you to your dorm. Just because you don't care about me doesn't mean I won't at least try to help you. He opened the umbrella and walked me back. When I got to the dorm, he didn't even give me a chance to say goodnight. He just left.

I walked into a 6 weeks pregnant Thalia sitting on the couch watching the _Monsters Inc _and crying her eyes out. On the screen, Boo looked into her closet and said "Kitty?" Thalia broke down in tears. I closed the door behind me and she looked my way, turning off the T.V in the progress. "Anniebugaboo! What's up? How'd your day with Jackson go?" She asked waggling her eyebrows.

And so I told her everything that happened that day. I managed to not burst into tears, though I almost did at one point. Talking about Zachary hurt, like reliving the memory of him ripping my shirt off or abusing me. Talking about Percy stung even more. Thalia tried to give me advice, but it was pointless. And so, for the first night since many, I slept in my own dorm, in my own bed, with no other body, and nothing to warm me except my thick blanket.

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><p>I woke up Saturday morning bright and early. I headed straight to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, then my curly hair. I'd left it curly ever since that night at Percy's room. I brushed it softly and stared at myself. He was changing me. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't hesitate to grab a flat iron, but Percy didn't care, and that gave me the confidence to accept myself, hair and all. That was all over though. He didn't want to talk to me at all. I grabbed a small red winter dress and changed quickly.<p>

As I went to toss my pajamas in the laundry basket, I spotted something colorful in the corner of the floor. I picked it up and smiled sadly. The bead necklace. At camp, Percy and I snuck off to the arts department and made friendship necklaces for each other. I hadn't worn mine since the incident in fifth grade. I slipped it around my neck and rushed out the door. I'd let my hair down and now the wind was pushing it around. I rushed to Mr. Grace's office, not even bothering to look at Mrs. Dodds. As I was about to enter his office, I spotted a bed of black hair sitting in a chair in front of his desk.

"He needs to be arrested this is absurd!" I slowly stepped in. " ?" He looked at me then slammed his fists down on the table. " , Mr. Jackson here has already concerned me of your supposed problem! Zachary would never do such a thing to a fellow student, or anyone else for that matter!" Percy pushed his chair aside and started pacing. "You are being completely illogical! He's attempted to rape her twice! Not once, twice! And you're saying that he would never! Well he would and he did and he needs to be punished!" "Mr. Jackson, I suggest-'' "No! If you won't punish him, I will personally go up to the NYPD and tell them about this!" And with that, Percy stormed out, leaving Mr. Grace shocked and me flustered.

I ran after him. "Percy!" I grabbed his arm and he turned to me. For a brief second, his eyes connected with the necklace around my neck and a glint of recognition flashed across them. Then he shook his head and looked away from me. "Mr. Grace is being completely biased! Did you notice that he called you and I by Mr and Mrs but called him by his name? He favors Zachary! I can't believe he won't do anything about this! Annabeth, come with me if you want, but I'm going to the police and I'm going now." He turned away from me and headed for his car, me trailing after him.

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><p>We told the police exactly what'd happened, and as soon as they heard my story, they headed over to the school to get Zachary. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, Zachary had bolted. Percy was beyond pissed, but after the police was gone, he left without another word. I, feeling completely defeated headed to my dorm. Thalia was out, so I was alone. I threw myself on the bed, but then felt something prick at my back. I got up and saw an envelope where I was lying. It was read <em><strong>To Annabeth<strong>_, on the front. Curious of the contents, I slowly opened the letter. In smudged black ink, a simple sentence was written.

**It's not over.**

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so I know this story might seem like a cliche high school love story, but when I first thought of the idea of this story, I had a lot more planned. I still do, and I intend to make each and every one of my ideas happen. This doesn't mean I'm not open to ideas though. I'd just like to say that this story is going to have a lot of drama and a couple plot twists. There are some hints as to what those plot twists may be, and so I'd like to point out that there's a hint in chapter nine, a hint in chapter ten, and a small one in this chapter. But that's all I'm saying right now, I want it to be a surprise. Anyway, please please please review, pleaaaseee, it could be like a christmas present? Until next time!- ShyGal<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN:Gahh so many hints in this chapter, I'm dying to get to the plot twists! **

**Annabeth**

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><p>It was blatantly obvious that Zachary was the one who left the letter. When I read it, chills erupted all over my back. This would never be over. And I admit that at that time I was feeling weak. I'd been feeling weak for a while now. I shoved the letter and the envelope under my pillow and headed to the bathroom. He was gonna come back. He was going to try again, and if I knew his stubbornness, he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. He would eventually rape me. I was going to be raped. I didn't want to feel weak anymore, but I felt like that was the only feeling I could feel at the moment. I grabbed the razor closest to me and stared at my arms. The cool metal touched my skin, but I stopped. I stared at my arms profoundly, a memory floating to the front of my brain.<p>

"_Hold out your arms for me." I didn't even argue. I stretched them out and he grabbed them. He brought his lips down slowly and planted a kiss on my arm. I smiled slowly. "Now if you ever pick up a blade again, you'll remember me and hopefully that'll stop you."_

I heard the soft clinking sound of the cool blade meeting with the ground. I can't do it. I can't. Hurting myself now would be like hurting Percy, and I've already hurt him enough. But that was yesterday. Now, I rubbed my arms together and stared at my hair, thinking maybe I could get my mind off yesterday's mishap by doing my hair. I plugged in my iron and waited for it to heat, then picked out a slick piece of curly hair and straightened it. I stared at myself after I'd straightened the strand and scowled. It didn't look right. I didn't like how it looked now. I quickly unplugged the iron and ran water over the straightened strand. Then I let out a frustrated puff of air. This year was not going the way I wanted at all.

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><p>I walked to Rachel's dorm, ready to get through this day and head to rehearsal. I made the mistake of not knocking the door. Emphasis on the mistake. They were both covered, thank the gods for that, but it was obvious they'd done… <em>things<em> last night. The exact image I walked in on was Piper halfway on top of Rachel under the snow-white covers. They were both still sleeping, but their hair was disheveled, and there was a slight scent of musk in the air. On yeah. They'd definitely done things. I looked at my watch and was surprised my eyes didn't bulge out of my head.

"Piper! Rachel! It's 8:30 we have to be in class by 8:40! Why are you still sleeping?!" Rachel squinted at me while Piper's eyes widened and she jumped out of the bed giving me a perfect view of something I didn't want to see. "OH TO ALL THE GODS, PIPER!" She then realized she was naked and turned as red as Rachel's hair. "You know what," I started, my eyes tightly shut, "I think I'll wait outside." And in a matter of 7 minutes, we rushed into the building, facing the oncoming day.

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><p>"You got a letter?" I sunk deeper into the beanbag I was sitting on. Hazel, Rachel, Thalia and I were currently in Greek doing "independent study". "Yes." I whispered harshly to Thalia. If she kept talking the way she was, everyone would find out about our conversation in a matter of ten seconds. "It said, <em>It's not over<em>. I'm pretty sure it's a threat." I let out a frustrated sigh. Of course, I wasn't gonna tell them that it was from Zachary. I wasn't going to drag them any deeper into this situation. Hazel looked at me with sympathy in her golden eyes, silently twirling a lock of dark brown hair.

I paused staring up ahead. Malcolm, my older brother, had just transferred from a different private school. He said the last one didn't challenge him enough. Guess a hunger for intellect runs in the family seeing as he was top in his old school and I'm top at Goode. Now, he sat in one of the empty desks talking to Connor Stoll. But obviously he wasn't paying attention to what Connor was saying because instead, he was staring at Thalia intently, like he was analyzing each and every one of her features. He wasn't staring at her like he was admiring her, he was staring at her like he was confused or curious about her.

Thalia happened to feel eyes on her and looked straight at him, blue eyes meeting gray. Instead of looking away like most people would, he intensified his stare up to the point where Thalia finally got up and walked over to him. I turned back to Rachel to see her staring at me. "What?" She smirked. "Ha, looks like Thalia wasn't the only one being stared at." I looked at her questioningly as I turned my head to where her perfectly painted nailed finger was pointing and ended up staring into the blue eyes of Luke Castellan.

I raised my eyebrows in a way that said '_You got a problem with me?' _buthe just smirked at me. I might have seemed weak because of all the things going on lately with Zachary, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless like that all the time. I stood up and made my way to him, his eyes tracking me the whole way over.

"May I help you?" He chuckled, but patted the seat next to me. "Yes, actually." I raised my eyebrows for the second time that day. Surprisingly he didn't laugh. Instead, his face was set in a look of serious thought. He let out a breath and finally spoke. "Θέλω να σας μιλήσω για Θάλεια(I need to talk to you about Thalia.)." There are two other Greek classes that Mr. Brunner, our Greek teacher, teaches. I furrowed my eyebrows. After me, Luke was the top in this Greek class. Obviously the conversation must've been important if he didn't want anyone else understanding us.

"τι γι 'αυτήν(What about her)?" I asked finally sitting down. "Χρειάζομαι βοήθεια για την νίκη της πάνω(I need help winning her over)." "Με συγχωρείτε(Excuse me)?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Της αρέσει πολύ , αλλά δεν ξέρω πώς να της το πει.(I really like her, but I don't know how to tell her)." I scoffed. "Θάλεια είναι ήδη χρονολογείται Nico. Της έχει τον χρονολόγηση για πάντα . Από όπου και αν περιμένουν παιδί , όπως μπορείτε να δείτε , προφανώς, με το δικό σας δύο μάτια . Είναι απόλυτα ευχαριστημένος μαζί του και μου ζητάς , ο καλύτερος φίλος της , για να σας βοηθήσει να την κερδίσει(Thalia is already dating Nico. They've been together for forever. They're expecting a child, as you can obviously see with your own two eyes. She is perfectly happy with him, and you're asking me, her best friend, to help you win her over)?" His eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

"Θάλειας έγκυος(Thalia's pregnant)?" I face palmed myself. "ναι ! ο καθένας στο σχολείο ξέρει ήδη . αυτή είναι αναμένει παιδί του Nico( Yes! Everyone in school knows. She is expecting nico's child)!" He shook his head furiously, his eyes becoming alert. "ΟΧΙ . αυτό είναι το παιδί μου που κουβαλάει . Της περιμένουν παιδί μου , ότι το παιδί δεν είναι παιδί του Nico του ( No. That is my child that she's carrying. She's expecting my child. That child is no child of Nico's)." I instantly became enraged and stood up from the desk.

" Πώς τολμάς να κατηγορούν Θάλεια της εξαπάτησης για Nico ?! Θάλεια αγαπά Nico , ποτέ δεν θα εξαπατήσει σχετικά με τον Nico , πόσο μάλλον μαζί σας ! Της δηλώσει πολλές φορές στο παρελθόν για μένα ότι μισεί με πάθος ! Αυτό το παιδί είναι του Nico . Δεν μπορώ να πιστέψω έχετε το θράσος να διακηρύξουμε ότι το δικό σας παιδί . Πώς τολμάς(How dare you accuse Thalia of cheating on Nico?! Thalia loves Nico, she'd never cheat on him let alone with you! She's stated many times to me that she hates you with a passion! This _is_ Nico's child. I can't believe you have the audacity to proclaim this child yours. How dare you?)?"

That's when I realized the whole classroom was staring at us, confusion in their eyes. Except for Mr. Brunner. He just looked perplexed. He grabbed my arm quickly, but I shook it away, my face red with anger. I was half way back to my spot, the classroom still silent as ever, when he spoke softly. "ανταποκριθεί μου έξω κατά την περίοδο δωρεάν σας σήμερα . Θα σου εξηγήσω τα πάντα . Παρακαλώ να μου δώσει μια ευκαιρία να καθαρίσει τα πάντα (Meet me outside in the courtyard during free period. I'll explain everything. Please, give me a chance to clear everything up)." He paused. Then he cleared his throat. "αλλά μην το πείτε Θάλεια . Είναι για το καλό της(But don't tell Thalia. It's for her own good)."

He stared at me earnestly, but I whipped around quickly, going back to Hazel and Rachel. "What was all that about?" Hazel asked quietly. I shook my head as a signal that I didn't want to talk about it and smiled softly at her. She really was very timid. The bell rung loudly and we grabbed our stuff, ready to head to our next class. I was about to walk through the door when Hazel stopped me, her eyes big and compassionate.

"By the way Annabeth, I'm sorry about what happened to you with the whole letter thing." I let out a breath and shook my head as we walked out together into the hallway. "If I'm being honest with you, when I first read it, I was scared out of my mind." She nodded her head in understanding. "Don't worry though. I'm sure whoever he is won't get away with threatening you like that. I have your back Annabeth don't worry. He's not going to threaten you when I'm around. " I smiled gratefully at her, but something about what she said seemed off. She then waved and headed off, but I was stuck there standing in the middle of the hallway thinking. What she said didn't sound right to me. It was as if there was something I was missing in her words. I could feel my mind digging for the answer, so close to reaching it but at the same time not close enough. I finally gave up, putting the unsolved puzzle piece in the back of my mind to solve at a later time.

* * *

><p>I sat in Psychology quietly, watching Malcolm and Thalia talking to each other like they'd known each other since they were kids. She finally walked over to me and plopped herself down in the seat next to me. "Your brother… Seems familiar to me. Like I've seen him before." I laughed softly. "You've been to my house plenty of times. Malcolm's only a year older than me, how have you not seen him before?" She shrugged then dug into her bag and pulled out a bag of Twix. Free period came faster than I thought it would. Cautiously, I made my way to the courtyard where I saw a head of blonde hair. I walked outside and almost instantly he turned to face me.<p>

"Look, I don't even know why I'm here. I know that Thalia could never and would never cheat on Nico. She loves him. That baby isn't yours." I blurted before he could get a word out. The courtyard, thankfully, was empty. He stared at me then motioned for me to sit down in one of the nearby benches. I agreed, but crossed my arms over my chest. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but then I got impatient.

"Well? Start talking or I'm leaving." He let out a frustrated breath and rubbed his neck. Guess that was a sign he was nervous because he's already done it twice in front of me. "Remember when me and Thalia were set up as partners in Psychology?" I nodded but rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, I was dreading it. I never really liked Thalia in the first place. She seemed to rough of a person, like she had a cold heart. During one of our project get togethers, we actually started making an effort to get to know each other more. I got her to open up to me. She told me about her past, about all the struggles she went through when she was young, and that's when I realized that my assumption of her having a cold heart was actually a wrong assumption of me. It was I seeing her cold exterior. I realized that that's how she protects herself from others, making herself look impenetrable on the outside, but actually being a reachable person on the inside. I started to grow fond of her. I didn't know I was falling in love with the real Thalia until after I did." He looked down like he was ashamed.

"That doesn't explain why you think Thalia's baby is yours." He nodded.

"I was getting to that. About three weeks before Mrs. Raylen assigned the project, I was sitting outside near the pool. I'm on the swim team and I was doing some extra laps in the pool. It was around ten at night. I was drying off when I heard someone crying. It was Thalia. She was holding a bottle of whiskey in her hands, sobbing and chugging it at the same time. I didn't like her, but that didn't mean I was cruel hearted. I went up to her and asked her what was wrong. She wasn't drunk, so she knew who I was. She told me she didn't want to talk about it. I respected that and offered to take her back to her dorm, but she told me that the last thing she wanted was to go back to her dorm.

"I said okay but didn't question her about it. She started chugging the whiskey again and I tried to pull it away from her. It was obvious she wasn't drunk yet. The whiskey bottle was still pretty full and she was still alert. I asked her if she wanted to come back to my dorm so she could calm down and she said okay. Once in my dorm, I sat down on my bed and she sat on the couch. Without me even asking her what was wrong, she started blurting stuff out. She said she had a big fight with Nico that night and she was really upset about it. She told me she felt like he didn't understand her, and that she wanted to be happy. She kept blubbering the whole time and I started pacing around the room because that's what I do when I'm trying to listen to people. She got up and started drinking her whiskey again, but I pulled it away from her. In the process she let herself get pulled with the bottle and ended up leaning against my chest. I got caught up in the moment. I can't deny that Thalia's beautiful, she might very well be the most beautiful girl I've seen in my life. Maybe we both got caught up in the moment because she was staring at me the exact same way I was staring at her. All I can say is she kissed me first. I think you know what happened after that. I didn't use protection. The next day when I woke up, she was gone. When I tried to talk to her about it, she said she didn't know what I was talking about. She was in denial. But now I know. I love Thalia so much it hurts."

I sat there silently taking it all in. It could've been minutes, hours, days before I looked up at Luke. I stared at the jagged scar running down one side of his face. An imperfection. Somehow, knowing he wasn't completely perfect made me trust in him more. "I can't say you took advantage of her since she wasn't drunk. But how do I know this is true?" He reached into his bag and pulled out a silver necklace with an arrow for a charm. "Here. She left this in my dorm. I can't make you believe me, but I sure as hell can try." He started to get up, but I stopped him.

"Luke, wait. Look I'm sorry for being so quick to judge. I just never thought Thalia would cheat on Nico. But I did notice them fighting a lot a while back. I'm going to trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm sorry. But I can't help you win her over when she's dating him. I don't like to meddle. And as for the baby... There's no sure way to know it's yours. It could still be Nico's, but this changes a lot of stuff." He nodded slowly."Maybe you could just ask her to talk to me soon?" I nodded and he grabbed my arm softly. "Hey, seriously, thanks. For letting me explain and for trying to help. You're a good person."

I smiled. "Maybe we can be friends, you're not as bad as people portray you." He chuckled. "Annabeth listens to rumors? I thought she was the wisest out of all of us." I bumped into him. "Whatever."

"Hm, not even denying it." I laughed "Whatever, Luke." He smiled. "I gotta go. I'll see you around, Annabeth." And with a wave he was gone. I could've sworn I saw a wave of black flash by but maybe that's just my imagination.

* * *

><p><strong>Percy<strong>

I watched as Annabeth held onto Luke's arm and walked towards the exit of the courtyard. I could feel my face scrunching up into a horrible expression.

"What are you looking at there Perce?" I whipped my head around to find the voice and found none other than Connor and Travis Stoll. Connor was sitting there with an amused expression on his face and Travis had a smirk bigger than the Grand Canyon. "Nothing, Stolls." They laughed at me. "I don't blame you for looking," Travis started. "That girl is hotter than summer at Texas."

"Smoking." Connor agreed. "She's like a goddess. Looks and brains… Well that's not something you find everyday. Gods look at her hips move." Leo came out of nowhere and started inspecting Annabeth too.

"She has all the assets… Do you know how many guys would kill to snatch her up in bed?" I turned around. "Do you guys ever shut up?" They all grew silent but Travis still had that stupid smirk on his face. Suddenly, she looked my way, but before she could register I was there, I darted down the hallway.

I didn't care if she was hanging out with Castellan. She could do whatever she wanted it was a free country. But somewhere deep in my heart I knew that I was just lying to myself.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay so I was really excited to do this chapter because it has so much significance for this story! This chapter is really important to the story like a lot. A lot. And there were so many hints in this chapter I can't even manage. I was also really excited to finally write in a percy POV( though there probably won't be that many). Anyway, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssse review. Please. Until next time!-ShyGal<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Guys…. I think I'm going to stop writing this story. I just don't think it's that good. I don't know. What's the point of writing this story if no one likes it? I don't know I just don't think this story is that good. I had a lot of good ideas for this but it's not getting very many reviews so I just don't know. What do you guys think I should do? **

**Annabeth**

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><p>"Oh my gods! Oh my gods!" I jumped out of my bed spilling the bowl of puff corn all over the floor and ran towards the bathroom. "What's going on in there? Thalia? Are you okay?" She opened the door laughing and crying at the same time. She wore a watery smile on her pearly white face and she was rubbing her belly. Even though her smile was watery, it, at the same time, radiated a feeling of her being proud.<p>

"What? What is it? Are you just having mood swings?" She shook her head, making her choppy long black hair move around her. Her blue eyes glinted with something like content.

"I felt it." I stared at her with a blank expression on my face. "Felt what?" She laughed. "I felt _it_." That's when my face twisted into a look of delusion. "How is that even possible? You've only been pregnant for about 12 maybe 13 weeks! The average woman starts feeling the baby kick at 16 weeks." She laughed again, and it filled my soul with happiness. Thalia hasn't been the same since her parent's visit. She'd never get an abortion, but she hasn't exactly been enthusiastic about the baby either. Seeing her laugh made me go soft inside.

"I know, but it did." She gently grabbed my hand and moved it over her now noticeable bump. At first I felt nothing, but then, a bump against her bump. Instantly, my eyes welled up with tears. I didn't know I'd get so emotional, but Thalia was like a sister to me. We'd been through everything together, ever since we met. She knew everything about me, and we were always inseparable at camp half-blood. We were incredibly close, and now, feeling her baby kick brought me even closer to her than before.

"Oh my gods, Thalia… I'm so happy for you. This is incredible, wow, I can't even imagine what it feels like for you." She beamed, her smile reaching ear to ear. Slowly but surely, the smile on my face slid off. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"So… How's your project going with Castellan?" She instantly frowned, but continued rubbing her stomach as she walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed.

" He tried to tell me that we've had sex before." I dropped the puff corn bowl for the second time that afternoon. That IDIOT. I told him to ease his way in! Even though I wasn't completely sure about this whole Thalia cheating on Nico thing, he sounded sincere, and I believed in the benefit of the doubt. Him and I have actually been getting along for the past couple weeks, and turns out, he's not what people make him out to be. He's actually a really nice guy.

"Are you serious? Really?" I asked as I started picking up the puff corn from the floor again. "I know right? Can you believe him? You know I'm not that type of person. Gods, this is gonna be a long year." Thalia's eyes furrowed as she stared at me. I looked at her. "What?" She smiled.

"I've missed your natural hair. I'm glad you stopped straightening it." I smiled as a knock on our door ended our conversation prematurely. " Are you waiting for someone?" I shook my head as I swung the door open and was met with a pair of green eyes. I sucked in a breath.

"Percy. What are you doing here?" He stared at me with emotionless eyes. "It's Friday. It's our project night." I let out a breath. I completely forgot about that. I nodded. "Right. Sorry. I'll get my stuff." I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed towards the door.

" Anniebugaboo?" I rolled my eyes as I turned towards Thalia. "Yes?" She snickered at my displeased face. "I have an appointment tomorrow. Ultrasound. I'm not finding out the sex that's in a couple weeks, but I'd like you to be there if possible. It's at ten." I smiled slightly and nodded. "I'll be there, Thals. See you later."

* * *

><p>Percy's room, for the first time in weeks, was not empty. Nico sat on his bed staring down at his phone. As soon as he heard the door open, he shoved the phone under his pillow.<p>

"Annabeth. Hi." He stared at me with his dark sunken eyes. Percy looked at him quickly and Nico took it as a sign to leave.

"Well. I better leave. Don't wanna impose. Even though this is my dorm… Goodnight." And with that, he walked out of the room. An awkward silence filled the room. I walked over to the couch and sat down slowly, watching Percy sit down on his bed. I stared at the ground for minutes, hours, days even. He broke the silence first. It seemed like trivia. It went on for hours. Neither of us making direct eye contact, him typing down the words I said, then the other way around.

"What's your family like?" I looked up at him. "What?" He stared at me like I'd grown a third head. "I was your best friend. You know everything about me. You know what my family's like." I said, almost mad that he was asking me this question. He stared at and then shifted. "May I remind you, when we were best friends, you never really liked to talk about your family. I respected that. That's why I'm asking now, Annabeth." I looked down getting mad at myself instead of him.

"My family… is screwed up. From years 1-3 of my life, I was happy. My parents were happy with each other, and we had a nice little home. It was one of those story book lives. And I loved it. Even though I wasn't rich, or owned the latest technology, my parents' love radiated off of them, and that made my life worth it. Then… When I was three, my dad left. There were no signs. My parents were happy with each other, we never saw it coming. I didn't understand what was happening. I saw my mom crying in her bedroom that day. She was honest with me. She told me he left. No beating around the bush. In a year's time, I couldn't even remember what he looked like. My mom, close minded like she is, trashed any pictures of his. Never let me keep one."

He was attentive now, listening to every word I said.

"I was okay after that. You weren't the only reason I became suicidal, Percy. Not only was my dad absent from a lot of my life, my family also put so much pressure on me to be the perfect child. They put the highest standards on me. I had to be top at everything. They did the same to Malcolm. It pushed me over the edge some times. I miss having a fatherly figure there for me, but hey, I learned to deal with it."

Everything was quiet for a while. He walked over and sat down next to me.

"Annabeth, I always wondered. I was always curious why you never wanted to talk about your family. It used to upset me. We were supposed to be best friends, and best friends tell each other everything. So, it angered me that you weren't telling me this. But I understand now. Let me tell you something. I'm sorry. For your dad, and your family, and everything else wrong with your life. And, I'm not trying to belittle your situation I swear, but I promise you that there are people out there in the world who have had worse lives than you, or me, or anyone who feels hopeless."

I bit my lip as he looked at me. "There are people who can never say that they got to see any of their parents alive, or say they had a roof over their head, or food on the table. So whenever you feel like there's nothing left, just stop and think about those who have less, and the fact that you have people in your life that would do anything for you, and care about you so much. You don't always have to be so strong."

I avoided his eyes. "You don't have to shield yourself like you do. You can be upset sometimes and show it. And I'm sorry for acting the way I did the other day. I shouldn't be pushing you away when I just gained your trust again. But you have to understand how hurt I am. I'd do anything for you, even if it means waiting a thousand years for you, but you're pushing me away. I can't help you if you won't let me in. So think about that. I really do care about you."

I sat there dumbfounded at his words. He pushed himself up and stared at me. "It's getting late. You should go back to your dorm. After all, you have that appointment to go with Thalia. I'd go too, but I'm going home for a couple hours tomorrow to see how Zoë is doing. I miss her a lot."

"Tell Sally I said hi." I said getting up. He nodded and we walked back to my dorm in silence, letting the cold winter air whip against our rosy cheeks.

* * *

><p>A pregnancy clinic, I discovered, was a bipolar environment. On one corner of the room, what appeared to be mostly teenage girls, were messes. They were weeping, some even thrashing. On the other side of the room, what appeared to be mostly late 20's-early 30's women, were beaming and some even clapping excitedly, on their phones probably texting their loved ones. Now there were exceptions. There were some adult women who were complete messes, and there were some teenage girls, like Thalia, who looked genuinely happy.<p>

"Thalia Anne Grace?" Thalia's smile fell from her face as we both got up. "Why did they _have_ to say my middle name?" She grumbled as we walked into the examination room. I laughed pointedly. The doctor then proceeded to do some uneventful procedures and give some boring instructions as to what Thalia needed to do for this check up.

After what seemed like forever, Thalia was lying on a check up bed, her big round tummy exposed. "You guys ready?" We both nodded. He chuckled. "It's nice to see people being so open about their relationships. You two will be wonderful parents." My jaw dropped. Thalia almost killed the guy with her stare. "We're not a couple… She's my best friend." The doctor looked like he could hurl himself through a window. "Oh. My mistake. Where's the father? Did he skip town?" I could practically hear Thalia growling. "No, he just couldn't make it today…" The awkwardness in the room expanded.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Thalia, this is how we'll do this. I'm going to run this over your belly, and whatever's in there will be shown on the screen. I'll point out where the baby is. This might feel a little cold okay?" He placed the screening tool on Thalia's belly and slowly moved it around while looking at the screen. It took him a bit to find it, but he did. And what he said next caused a mix of emotions on all of our parts.

He turned his head to us and smiled. "Thalia, do you see this?" He pointed to a blob on the screen and she nodded. He moved his finger. "Do you see this?" She nodded again looking confused. "Is there something wrong with my baby?" He shook his head and smiled even wider. "No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your babies." I choked on my water. "Babies?" He nodded. "That's right. There's two of 'em. One here, and one here. You're having twins!" My mouth dropped. "Twins?" Thalia asked bewildered.

The doctor nodded so fast I was surprised his neck didn't come off. "I'll let you take in the news, tell me when you guys are ready to schedule you're next appointment." And with that, he walked out. Me and Thalia looked at each other. "I'm having twins?" She asked to no one in particular. I walked over to her. " Are you okay?" She looked at me, he bright blue eyes glistening. "I… I'm having twins. _I'm_ having _twins_. I know that most girls in my situation would be beyond upset. But I've accepted it. I can't change it now. I feel blessed." I smiled at her. Over the last four months, this baby, or should I say these babies, were helping her mature. She looked at me in the eyes.

"I wouldn't want this any other way Annie." I smiled. And even though the procedure was uneventful, this morning definitely wasn't.

* * *

><p>"Some would say so, but I see a side of him that few people are lucky enough to see."<p>

"While you're sitting on his lap?"

"No".

"Has he kissed you yet?"

"No."

"Does he have a pet name for you?"

"Yes!"

"What?"

"John!"

"John? That's not very romantic."

"But it's modern. He calls me John because I'm so efficient:"Johnny-on-the-spot." I'll let you in on a little secret: this morning, he came this close to popping the question."

"He did?"

"John, "he said, "Don't ever leave Sincere Trust Insurance Company!"

"Sweet. Maybe you could work it into the vows"

"Okay, good both of you! Percy you're doing really well with the concerned voice in your questions. Okay skip to the next page and start with Millie on where it says, I think you should grow up." We both nodded as the cast in the audience watched us.

"I'm merely suggesting that you grow up, skirt chaser!"

"Golddigger!"

"Womanizer!"

"Jezebel!"

"Casanova!"

The cast was watching us intently, like this was a real argument. All eyes were on us waiting for the most expected part of rehearsal. And then he grabbed me, crashing his lips onto mine. It was shocking, I almost lost character, but I managed to struggle against him, until the point where both my character and I responded with weak knees. It was impossible to discern who was kissing whom, but that had nothing to do with the fact that that was what was called for in the script.

I could feel my arms moving even though I didn't remember thinking it. He has to pull away now. That's what the script says. Pull away Percy. But he never did pull away. That is until someone cleared their throat loudly. I looked at our position. My hands rested around his neck, his were on my waist. He pulled away quickly and looked towards the source of the voice. Mrs. Treble looked at us with wide eyes. "That was good. Not what I expected. Lots of chemistry. Good job, both of you. "Next time, though, try to cut it off sooner."

Snickers and laughs erupted in the auditorium, and I looked down at the stage floor to avoid eye contact. "Alright, rehearsal is over. Great job everyone! Now get out!" But I didn't really want to get out. Getting out would mean going to my dorm, and that would mean thinking, and honestly, the last thing I want to do right now is think because right now, I felt even more confused than my on-stage character.

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><p><strong>AN: So... Yeah. Like I said above, not sure if I should continue this story. Review for me please? <strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**Percy**

I walked out of the auditorium in a hurry, lightly pushing past the people who stood in my way. "Percy!" I could hear the sound of footsteps colliding with the pavement, and no later I was met with the mischievous faces of the Stolls.

"Percy! What in all of the gods' names was that? I'm impressed, really." Connor paced back and forth babbling about the stage kiss. " How was it? Was it amazing? Or does she suck at kissing? I can't believe you actually kissed her!" _Oh trust me, I've done a lot more than just kiss her_, I thought to myself. I shook my head at the thought and turned back to Connor.

"Our characters are supposed to kiss like that…It was a stage kiss. It meant absolutely nothing, Connor." But I sounded like I was trying to convince myself more than I was him. He smirked at me and shook his head. "Keep telling yourself that. I totally call this going canon." He yelled at no one in particular. And with that, he ran off after Travis, not caring who saw him skipping around like a pansy.

I saw a flash of blonde hair whip past me and turned. "Annabeth." She turned to me sharply. I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off quickly. "Don't worry. It was a stage kiss. It meant absolutely _nothing_ to me. I'm positive you feel exactly the same way. Good night." And then she stalked off fuming.

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><p><strong>Annabeth <strong>

I can't deny that something inside of me snapped when Percy said that to Connor. It sounded so convincing, so I couldn't help but believe him. And now, here I was running off to no where in particular. But I knew where I was going truly.

I quietly made my way inside the separated building. It was the inside pool, the place where the swimmers went when their season wasn't over- which it probably never was- and it was too cold outside to practice in the outside pool.

I don't know why I came here, I just did. It seemed like a nice place to blow off some steam. I quickly discarded of my clothes until I was left with my undergarments, then plunged into the pool. Surprisingly, it was warm. I ran a hand through my hair and let out a big ugly frustrated breath.

"Annabeth." I turned in the water then rolled my eyes at the person standing before me. "What do you want Luke?" He stared at me with big hurt eyes and I crossed my arms. "Sorry. Frustrated. How did you know where to find me?"

"I was looking for you and saw you walk in here. I need your help." I shook my head. "You screwed up big time Luke. How could you tell her that you think you guys had sex? Are you insane? This is Thalia we're talking about here, she'll get a restraining order on you!" He facepalmed himself as I moved around in the water. "I know, but I just couldn't help it! She was telling me about her relationship with Nico and I just snapped. He's horrible!" He paused. "I know what I have to do. I have to convince Thalia to get a paternity test done. That way, I'll prove to her that I'm the baby's father." I stared at him.

"Are you insane?! Thalia will never agree to getting a paternity test! You're crazy!" He threw his hands up in defeat. " It's the only way! I don't want my child going into the wrong hands!"

"How do you know that Nico's hands are the wrong ones?!"

"I don't, and that's why we need to get this test done! I have a strong feeling that that baby is mine, but I won't be positive until the test! I want to know if that's my baby in her stomach."

I let out a breath. "Nico knows how to take care of children, he will be able to take care of those babies, he'll know what to do if they're his." Luke stared at me like I'd grown a third head. "_Babies_? As in more than _one?" _Oh shit. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Um, no. My mistake. Baby." He stared at me. "Thalia's having _twins?" _

"No, of course not."

"Don't you lie to me Annabeth. Is she or is she not having twins?" I shut my eyes. "Yes, okay? But no one is supposed to know except close friends and family. We don't want this getting out everywhere!" He stared into space.

"This just makes me even more sure that I'm the father! I have tons of twins in my family tree. Maybe they skipped a generation." He looked my way with pleading eyes. "Annabeth please please please help me with Thalia. What do I do?" I huffed. "Well, it's gonna be hard to come back from your big screw up. I don't know if this will help much, but Thalia doesn't like to feel like she's being questioned or interrogated. So just try to be gentle with her. But not too gentle. She doesn't like being treated like a baby either."

He nodded and after a brief goodbye, left me to myself. After about an hour of just sitting in the water, I got out and dried myself with a spare towel in the supply closet, then got dressed.

I walked out the building only to be greeted by a head of disheveled hair.

"Took you long enough. What were you doing all alone in the pool? I mean you weren't alone Castellan was with you, but he left over an hour ago." He said his last name in the most distasteful manner I'd ever heard.

"What were you doing all alone out here?"

"I asked you first, Chase." I glared at him, a drop of water running down my face from my still- drenched hair. "I wanted to cool off. Didn't know where else to go." I said starting to shiver. Going to the pool during December was _not_ a good idea. Hypothermia here I come. "W-Why were you out here?" He looked at me and his usually playful eyes were filled with concern. "I was waiting for you. Come on, Nico's not at my dorm, you can go get changed there." I shook my head. "I-I can go to my own dorm, thank you very much." He scoffed at me.

"Stop being so stubborn. Thalia's not even at you guys' dorm, she went on a date with Nico."

"I have a key." I retorted. He raised his eyebrows at me as I searched for it in my bag. I then looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "So I'm guessing you left your keys in the dorm. Looks like you have no other choice sweetheart. Let's go before you die out here."

* * *

><p>After changing into a comfortable set of clothes that didn't have the potential to give me frostbite, I threw myself onto Percy's couch. He handed me a cup of hot chocolate as he sat down next to me. " So what were you and Castellan doing in the building alone?" I turned to him and smirked. "Nothing illegal." He glared at me and I almost laughed. "We were just talking. He wanted my help with something. That's it." He stared at me warily but then let it go. "Why exactly were you waiting for me, Jackson?" I asked after a minute of silence. "Why did you have to 'cool off'?" I smirked. "I asked you first." He rolled his eyes at me before setting down his cup on the small table next to him.<p>

"Because. You seemed kind of upset when you left the auditorium, I thought I'd make sure you were okay." I scoffed. "Well the answer to your question, is that I _was_ upset. That's why I was 'cooling off'."

"Why were you upset?"

"None of your business."

"You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want to talk about it."

"No, I was simply answering your question."

"Will you answer the question I just asked?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I care."

"Well if you really cared you wouldn't have said that that kiss meant nothing to you!"

Oh gods. Did I really just say that? He looked at me in shock. "_That's_ what you're upset about?" Welp, no going back now. "You said that it meant absolutely nothing! How am I supposed to react to that?" He huffed. "Annabeth. I was talking to the Stolls. What did you want me to say? If I said I enjoyed it, they'd never stop talking about it." I stayed silent. "I can't believe you're actually upset over this."

I groaned. "I'msorry." It was a muttered apology, but an apology nonetheless. He looked at me. "What? I sat up and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. About the other thing too. You were right. That night when you saved me… I was scared. And that led to me pushing you away. I just don't want to get hurt. And that's why I shut you out. That's why I shut the world out. But you were helping me open up, and that scared me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

He stared at me. " It's okay. I'm sorry too. For being insensitive. I got upset at you without even considering what you were feeling, or if there was an ulterior motive." There was a minute of silence, but then he looked at me with a big smile on his face. "I can't believe you apologized to me. First time in the history of mankind." I scoffed. "Ugh. I hate you Percy." I said grabbing our empty mugs and putting them next to the microwave. I turned around to find him standing right behind me.

"You and I both know that's not true."

"But it is."

"But it's not."

"I hate you. Always have always will."

"Those words may be coming out of your mouth, but your eyes are saying something else Annabeth."

"You don't know what I'm thinking or feeling, you don't even know me."

He moved his way around me smirking the entire time. "Oh really? Because I'm pretty sure I know you better than a lot of people. I know a lot about you, Chase. Your dreams, goals, secrets…." He whispered in my ear making my entire body shiver, and it wasn't because I was cold.

"You can't prove that's true." He raised his eyebrows at me but I was not backing down. I wasn't going to give up so easily. "Oh, I can't? So you're saying you feel nothing towards me except hatred?" I narrowed my eyes at him determined to keep up a good fight. " Precisely."

With a quick motion he brought me to him, our bodies not giving the other room to breathe. I was not backing down. His hands gripped my waist tightly as I stared up at him with insistent eyes.

"Have I proven myself yet?" I asked, sarcasm dripping off my words.

"Not even close, Chase."

Before I even knew what was happening, his mouth had covered mine. He ran his hands through my curls and I held onto his shirt for dear life. Lust radiated off of his lips and finally I couldn't keep myself from responding. I could feel him smiling against my lips as I kissed him back and I instantly wanted to smack the crap out of him.

It could've gone on forever really. Could've. But it didn't because of the people standing in the doorway.

"Did hell freeze over?" I heard someone say. And that's when we saw them. Connor, Travis, Leo, Grover, and Luke all standing in the doorway, their faces full of surprise. Connor quickly recovered from his shock and his face split into a ginormous grin.

"It's happening! It's canon! I knew it!" I was the first to respond to them.

"Me and Percy are just practicing. For the musical. You know. It's kind of a hard scene, I mean I have to kiss him. _Him._ It means nothing." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. She has like no kissing skills at all. So yeah. Practicing. Very hard. Very busy." Leo Connor and Travis seemed to buy the story, but Grover and Luke smirked. I could already hear them saying, _Practicing for the musical or practicing to have kids?_

"Well, you best be on your way guys, wouldn't wanna make you throw up. We're very busy. Lip exercises and all. Bye!" I said as I pushed them all out of the room. I turned to look at Percy as the door shut tightly.

"I get what you mean now. Hearing you say that did kind of sting." I smiled in satisfaction.

Then grabbed me, a smirk appearing on his face almost instantly. "That sure didn't seem like hatred to me." I scoffed.

"Well you know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"Are you saying that since I'm your enemy you'd tap it?"

"Ah, no. But I definitely wouldn't mind." I muttered.

"What was that?" he asked smirking.

"Oh nothing. Come on Seaweed Brain. Let's 'rehearse' some more. You need practice."

He scoffed. "Oh please. I'm the master of kissing."

* * *

><p><strong>Third person POV<strong>

Thalia stared at him with hurt eyes. "How can you say that? These are your children I'm carrying!" He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. " I'm not going to be that guy sitting on a rocking chair at two in the morning taking care of these… these _things. _I don't want twins Thalia. I didn't want one in the first place."

"Nico! These are your kids!"

"I want you to get an abortion, Thalia."

Thalia stared at him with disgust. "I'm 12 weeks pregnant. I felt them kick. I will _not_ get rid of them. They are living creatures! And it's too late anyway. It's been more than nine weeks, if I got an abortion, I could be putting myself in danger too." He looked at her angrily, but she looked at him just the same.

"I never wanted these kids."

"Then why didn't you wear a bloody condom, Nico?! This isn't just my fault!"

"I never…." He paused. "You're right. I'm sorry. I love these kids. I'm sorry. I love you." But at that point, Thalia just wanted to get away. He dropped her off at her dorm, and patiently, she waited until he left. Then she walked to _his_ dorm. The he that she despised, but at the same time would make her feel better.

Knocking on his door, she was greeted with blue eyes full of confusion. His eyes moved down to her plump belly and almost welled up.

"Thalia? What are you doing here?" He moved out of the way letting her step into his empty dorm. Apparently his roommate, Leo Valdez, was out tonight. As she sat down on his couch, she shook her head, trying to avoid the tears that were threatening to spill. This is what she hated. Being overly emotional and the mood swings and just… _that _part of the pregnancy.

"I thought maybe… Maybe you wanted to work on the project tonight." It was obvious in her voice that that was not why she was here. He looked at her obviously not convinced. But then he saw her face.

"Maybe we can skip that and go straight to why you're upset. What's going on?" She bit her lip so hard it almost drew blood. Her back was starting to hurt. Luke, noticing her wince, brought her a pillow before sitting down next to her.

"Here." He placed it behind her and she shifted, then placed her hand on her stomach protectively. And then she burst into tears. "Thalia, what's wrong? What's going on?" She covered her face with her hands wishing she never came here.

"Was it wrong for me to keep them? Should I have gotten an abortion earlier?" Luke's eyes widened at her words. "What? No! It's not wrong Thalia! You did the right thing!" She shook her head. "But I didn't! He doesn't want them! He doesn't love them, he doesn't want to take care of them! Was it wrong?"

Luke's eyes narrowed and his hands quickly turned into fists. "Who? Nico?" She nodded solemnly. He placed a hand on her shoulder and her eyes quickly met his.

"Listen to me, Thalia. I know you hate me. I know that you probably don't trust me. But Nico doesn't know anything. If he really is the father of those kids, then he's doing a terrible job already. It wasn't wrong. In fact, what you did wasn't more _right._ You didn't give up on those beautiful creatures. You kept them. Nico is a bastard. He doesn't appreciate you and he won't appreciate those babies when they're born. You did the right thing, Thalia. Nico's wrong."

She stared at him, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean if he really is the father?" Luke stiffened.

"Never mind that. What I'm trying to say is, he doesn't deserve you or those babies. Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about, and if I were you, I'd stop being with him. If he cared he wouldn't have said that to you."

She looked at him, slowly taking in what he said. "He doesn't love them." She muttered quietly. Luke stared at her belly. "Yeah, but I do."

"What?" He looked up and realized what he said. He couldn't take it back now.

"I love them. Your babies. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who does. Maybe Nico doesn't love them, but there are many more people who do. Don't let one person ruin your pregnancy. Or your view of the babies. Or your happiness."

And for the first time since the project had started, Luke saw Thalia smile at him. But then she looked down and the vision of beauty in front of him had disappeared from his sight. She suddenly shifted and then smiled.

"What?" she got up quickly walking around.

"They're kicking." He sucked in a breath. He wanted to be involved in her pregnancy so badly. He wanted to be there with her the whole time. But she couldn't just tell her that he thought he was the father.

"Wow, really? That's great. I'm happy for you." She looked up from her belly and met his eyes.

"Do you… want to feel?"

"Would you let me?" She smirked.

"I asked if you wanted to, didn't I?"

And that's when he got up, walking over to her cautiously. He didn't want to run the risk of ruining the moment. One wrong move and Thalia would most likely beat his ass.

She looked at him as he got close, her eyes big and content. "Here." She then slowly brought his hand over her stomach with him standing behind her body. And he felt it. He wanted to cry, maybe out of joy for knowing that those were his kids, but maybe out of sadness for knowing that Thalia _didn't _know those were his kids. He could feel it, deep in his heart that they were his. Without noticing, his chin had rested on a crook in her neck. Thalia wasn't complaining, and so he didn't point it out to her. He just stayed there, letting his hot breath warm her cheek and enjoying the first and maybe only moment he'd have to be close to the babies.

"It's incredible." He whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear himself. She met his eyes but abruptly averted them afterwards.

Luke hated pulling away, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he did. She met his eyes again and then he spoke without thinking.

"Thalia, do you wanna go get a drink or something? Not like alcohol because obviously you can't, but there's a sonic not that far away from here." She looked uncertain. "I could get you a snickers masterblast." Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and soon they were in his car heading towards the nearest Sonic.

Just like he said, he ordered Thalia a Snickers Masterblast, and now they sat in the car driving who knows where with Thalia sipping on her drink.

There was a comfortable silence filling their atmosphere, but Thalia needed to break it.

"Luke?" He couldn't look at her, but he was dying to.

"Hm?"

"Do you really love my babies?"

"Of course. As if they were my own." A red light let him look upon her beautiful face. "I'll always love them." The space between them was getting smaller, until they were breathing each other's breaths. He didn't know if he should say it. It might be too risky. But then again, he felt the need to. He wanted her to know how much he cared.

"And their beautiful mother." In that instance, the gap between them was closed. He would always remember her lips tasting like snickers on the night he finally told her he loved her. He would always remember the fact that she didn't pull away for those 3 seconds that their lips met one another. He would always remember the way she leaned in, and how she smiled after he had to pull away because the light turned green and he had to hit the gas pedal.

But most of all, he would always remember the oncoming headlights from the other car that collided into them.

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><p><strong>AN: Review? <strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Of Hatred & Regrets**

**AN: Okay. You guys. This story's genres are Romance and **_**Drama.**_** I'm sorry if you think Thalia's drama is too heavy, but it's going to be over after this chapter. And she's not a whore. This chapter will explain a lot of unanswered questions. I'm not mad or anything though. Rowel Reyna 14****- Hope this chapter answers your questions!- ShyGal**

**Annabeth**

Four. I hated that number now. It made me want to throw up and scream and cry all at the same time. Four was a haunting number; it had a way of teasing you. I wish four never existed. I remember when I found out about four just this morning.

The morning started out with content. Percy and I snuggled under the blankets together, our bodies giving the other heat. I remember looking at the clock on his nightstand when we were about to walk through the door. It was 10:12. He walked me back to my dorm happily. We'd finally broken the barrier between friends- if you could even really call a guy you'd already slept with friend- and a couple. And now we were the latter.

I was ecstatic. We were at my door now. I knocked on the door. No answer. I found that strange because Thalia had told me she'd gotten home at nine last night. I kept knocking but it was no use. It was obvious she wasn't there. I thought maybe she'd just left early, even though that was highly unlikely because Thalia wasn't much of a morning person.

I was so distracted I didn't even feel my phone vibrate in my pants for the fifth time. I picked it up quickly without even looking at caller ID. Mrs. Grace's voice rung through my ears. I couldn't understand much, but I picked up a few words. Blood, 10 o'clock, car, glass, and trauma. That's when my phone fell on the pavement of my doorstep. I didn't have time to tell Percy what was going on until we were on our way to the hospital, and when he found out, there were no words from his side of the conversation.

And now here we were, sitting in the waiting area of the hospital that both Luke and Thalia were being treated at. Waiting to see if four people survived, because those babies were in the car with them both. Four is a horrible number to me. The fact that a car crash has the potential to end four lives, two that haven't even fully started, disgusted me. Percy's hand resting on mine snapped me out of my thoughts.

"It's okay. We're going to figure this out alright?" I nodded not very convinced. I stood up. "I can't take this anymore. I'm going to go ask her if we can see them yet." I didn't wait for his reply. We'd been there for four hours and all that was said to us was go sit down.

Mr. Grace walked up to the front desk at the same time I did. I cleared my throat hoping the nurse would look up at me, and she did.

"Can I help you?" I nodded. "Yes, when can we see Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan?" She checked a list of papers on a clipboard. "Visitation opened up about thirty minutes ago for Mrs. Grace, but only family is permitted." I opened my mouth to say something, but Mr. Grace beat me to it.

"She's on the list." I stared at him confused. "Name?" the nurse, asked without looking up from her computer. "Annabeth Claire Chase." My eyes widened as the nurse typed in something on her computer. "Yes, you're on the list sweetie, you're marked as…" She squinted. "Sister." I nodded confused. "She's in room 614."

Mr. Grace walked in silence towards the room until I spoke up. "How did you know my middle name? And why was I marked as sister? Why am I on the family list?" He never made eye contact with me as he quickly answered my questions. "Thalia told me your middle name. She talks about you all the time. You guys are practically sisters, and I know she would want you to be able to see her if something happened to her that caused her to land in the hospital. So I marked you as family." I nodded, but something about his words didn't seem right.

Thalia would never tell anyone my middle name…My thoughts were wiped away as I heard her voice. "Please, let me out, tell me where he is! He needs to know about this!" I ran to the room with Mr. Grace trailing behind and was met with the grief stricken face of Thalia.

She was paler than usual, so white she almost looked like a ghost. There was a long cut running down her arm and her usually bright eyes were now sunken and cold. She held onto her stomach through her hospital scrubs and she looked like she might break down crying any minute. At the moment, a black male that looked about mid-thirties had his hand on her arm and was what appeared to be, holding her down. I guess he was the doctor.

"Dad! Annabeth!" She struggled against the doctor's grip as he tried to calm her down. "Thalia, I know you're scared right now, but you can't leave this room. He's not even awake, and he's not stable enough for you to go see him. You need to let him be." He turned to us. "Family?" Mr. Grace nodded. "I'm her father and this is her sister." Thalia's eyes furrowed in the same way mine did when I heard him say about the same thing to the nurse.

He motioned for us to walk over to where Thalia was and brought some chairs for us. He then turned to us and looked us straight in the eyes. "May I explain what happened?" We nodded. What kind of question was that? "It appears that the collision last night was very one sided. We've got the NYPD checking the street cameras to see if we got a clear view of the other car's license plate." We stared at him confused.

"This was not an accident. This collision was planned. The police are still trying to find the license plate, but they did find some interesting pictures. The car that hit both Luke and Thalia was sitting at the light waiting for them for at least thirty minutes. The street that the other car came from was closed, and that's why whoever it was was able to stop the car without anyone else coming that way. Someone deliberately collided into them. Interesting thing is, when we found the car, there was no one inside. The police believes that the person behind this all hardwired the car to run by itself, and when Luke stopped at that light, whoever it was could have triggered the car to start going at that precise moment."

We sat there in silence. This was _planned?_ The number four kept running through my head. "Now on to Thalia. When we found them, it was about ten minutes after the accident. Because of the way the other car was stationed and how it was set off, Luke took most of the impact." I watched as Thalia covered her face with her hands.

"Miraculously, both of her babies came out of this unscathed, but that doesn't mean Thalia came out of this whole thing the same way. Her left leg is broken because of the pressure of the front of the car falling onto it, and the cut on her right arm was the aftermath of the windshield breaking and her unfortunately falling on a piece of glass. We also got some interesting results back when we conducted a MRI on her. Thalia's had a concussion for at least three months now. Most concussions improve by the third month, and so when we tested her for it, she still had symptoms, but they weren't as strong as they would be if it were a fresh concussion. Concussions can sometimes cause headaches, loss of consciousness, amnesia or memory loss surrounding the events near or at the time the concussion happened, ringing in the ears, and many more."

Loss of memory…. I struggled to keep my mouth shut. "We never did it…" I looked up at Thalia. "We never did it." She said a little loudly, loud enough that now all of us were looking at her. "Excuse me?" She looked at the doctor.

"How quickly can I have a paternity test done?" The doctor looked bewildered at her question.

"What?"

"When can I get a paternity test done?"

"Mrs. Grace…"

"Just tell me." The doctor stayed quiet for a minute until Thalia's stare cracked him.

"Tonight. You're scheduled to get your arm stitched and your leg casted in about an hour."

"Okay. When can we see Luke…? How is he doing?"

"I'm not allowed to reveal any information about his condition without the family's consent, and even then, it's still only supposed to be for family to hear."

Thalia placed a hand over her stomach. "Dad, can you give us a minute please?" He nodded and left, and as soon as the door shut, Thalia turned her attention to the doctor.

"Now you listen to me doctor. That is the father of the kids I'm carrying. It's not my DNA, it's not his DNA, it's our DNA that's mixed into these babies inside me, and technically that makes us family. I want to know how he is. Right now." Oh my gods. She admitted it. She said they're his kids.

The doctor consented in the blink of an eye. "Thalia…He's not doing that good. He has a contusion, which is basically a region of injured tissue or skin where blood capillaries have broken. The contusion is located in his brain, and if it doesn't lessen soon, we might need to go to surgery. He's unconscious at the moment, and he was also cut with the windshield, but along his jaw. There's even a chance he might go into a coma."

Thalia sobbed covering her mouth with her hand as she shook her head in denial. "He told me he loved me and now he could die." Mean while, I had stopped pacing. Words were running through my head. _Coma, blood, surgery, brain._ I could feel myself start to hyperventilate. _Coma, blood, surgery, brain. _Four words four people. _I hate four,_ was the last thing to run through my mind as I blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Annybeth?" I tried to open my eyes but they wanted to stay closed. "Anna?" My eyes felt so heavy, I wasn't strong enough. "Annybeth." My eyes snapped open and I met the eyes of little Zoë. When she saw that my eyes were open, she jumped up and down excitedly, her eyes shining brightly.<p>

"Annybeth!" She jumped up on the hospital bed I was sitting on and threw herself onto me. "I missed you!" Her little hands held my cheeks. "Mommy saw them take you away into this room. She said you fell because you were so tired, so they brought you in here so you could take a nap. I wanted to see you a lot. A lot a lot, and I didn't want to wait because I haven't seen you in a long long long long time." She looked at me with sad eyes.

"Do you want me to leave? I will if you want me too, Anna." She didn't even give me a chance to answer. "I'm sorry I woke you, I just missed you so much." I hugged her to me. "Zoë, I'm not mad at you… I missed you too so so much, Nightshade. I could never be mad at you. And yeah. I was really tired. But not anymore, so you can stay here with me." She put on a big smile and hugged me tightly, then lied down next to me.

That's when Percy burst through the door with Thalia on a wheel chair. "Zoë I told you to…" His sentence was cut off when he saw my eyes wide open. He left Thalia's side and laid a sloppy kiss on my lips, making me crack a smile even through the midst of this whole situation. "Don't scare me like that." He whispered.

"Ew!" I pulled back laughing at Zoë's reaction and he smiled at me. "Are you guys married?" She asked innocently. Percy shook his head laughing. "Why would you think that Zozo?"

"Because Mommy said that only married people can kiss each other." I smiled and ruffled her hair. "I think she means something else." I put her on my lap. "Nightshade, can you go get me 3 snickers bars from the vending machine down the hall?" I handed her a 5-dollar bill and she scampered off.

"You two make me sick." Thalia commented. Her arm had nine stitches and her leg was now in a black cast. I got up and walked over to her. "Any word on Luke?" She stiffened, her eyes glistening. I sent Percy a look that sent him a signal to leave and he willingly took it. He placed a kiss on my cheek and left.

I waited until the door shut to turn and look at her. "Alright. What's going with Luke?" She rubbed her belly and stared at the floor. "Me and Nico never did it. These are Luke's kids for sure. I just have to have proof incase Nico denies that we never did anything because I know we didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Getting into this car crash made me remember everything. I remember now what happened that night when I was drinking and me and Luke ended up together… I left early the next day because I couldn't believe we'd actually done what we did. I went to meet Nico at his dorm, and Percy wasn't there. I was wearing Luke's jacket and he… Just flipped. He pushed me and I ended up hitting the edge of his wardrobe. The next time I woke up, I was in his bed and couldn't remember anything. He told me we'd done it, but I honestly thought it sounded farfetched until I took the pregnancy test. I guess that's where I got the concussion."

That lined up with Luke's story perfectly. I nodded to show her I was listening. "Last night, after our date, we were talking. He admitted that he never wanted the kids. I didn't know he wasn't the father, so I was extremely upset and I went to Luke's dorm because I didn't want to be alone. We had a moment. He felt them and I was just getting comfortable with him. He took me to get a shake, told me he loved me, and we kissed… It all happened so fast afterwards." She was crying now.

"If I hadn't agreed to go get that shake with him this would've never happened. This is my fault."

"No, Thalia, you could've never guessed that someone would crash into you."

"And you know what the saddest thing is? Nico's not even here right now. He didn't even bother to show up." I stopped. No way in hell…

"Thalia. What exactly did Nico say about the babies yesterday?" She looked at me confused.

"He said he wanted me to get an abortion and I told him it was too late for one anyway, and I didn't want to get rid of my kids." I paced back and forth in the room.

"Thalia… What if… What if Nico was the one who planned this whole thing? If he really wanted you to get rid of them, don't you think a car crash would be a good way to do them? Don't you find it suspicious that you got into a car accident right after he said he wanted you to get an abortion?" She looked at me, eyes wide. "And you know what else? When I woke up this morning he wasn't in Percy's dorm. In fact, he barely ever is in his dorm at night. There's something going on here."

"You think it was him?" I shrugged unsure of myself. Suddenly, Zoë burst through the door carrying three snicker bars.

"Here you go, Anna." She handed the snicker bars to me and I passed them over to Thalia who happily took them from me.

"Thank you, Zozo." I kissed her forehead and she sat down on the bed. That's when Thalia's doctor walked into my room.

"Annabeth, you've been discharged by your parents. Good thing you just fainted, that's a minor thing. But I think you guys might like to hear the news." Thalia licked her lips eagerly.

"Luke's out of surgery. We had to perform it because the blood in his brain wasn't going away."

"And?" I asked impatiently.

"He's fine, the surgery was a success. The cut on his face didn't need stitches, but will definitely leave a scar. The Castellan's have agreed to let you guys visit him. He's in room 503."

We didn't wait to hear more. We grabbed Zoë and bolted. Thalia made it in first. She didn't even care that his mom was sitting in his room, she just ran to his side.

"Luke! Oh my gods!" He wrapped his arms around her without even thinking. He looked horrible if I'm being honest, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that they were okay. That's when four became a good number. Four lives were okay, and I couldn't be more grateful.

* * *

><p><strong>Luke<strong>

All I saw was Thalia's black hair covering my face. All I heard was her apologizing for last night. I heard the door shut and then I saw her pull her face back to look at me.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'm sorry, Luke." I wanted to shake my head, but that was a bad idea since I got out of surgery a couple hours ago. We were now completely alone. I took a chance and cupped her cheek with my hand.

"It's not. You didn't know, Thalia." She shook her head crying. "I put you in danger."

"I put you and them in danger Thalia. You did nothing." I said pointing at her belly. Everything was silent for a minute. "Are they okay? They're okay right?" She nodded and I let out a sigh of relief, resting a hand on her bump. She met my eyes and I pulled back quickly.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"I remember." She said cutting me off quickly. I looked at her confused.

"That night. I remember now. I got a concussion right after it happened, but I remember now. So it's okay, Luke." I stared at her wanting to say something, but a bunch of different thoughts were running through my mind.

"I…"

"Why did you leave?" I asked cutting her off. She stared at me.

"Why did you leave that morning?" Nothing.

"Did I disgust you? Did you just really hate me that much? Why…"

"Because I didn't want to admit to myself that I was falling for you, okay?" I stared at her completely shocked. Her cheeks were flushed and she avoided my eyes.

"I felt guilty. I'm not the type of person that cheats on people, but me and Nico just weren't working and I didn't think it was going to last anyway. That night was… amazing. I didn't want to believe it was because I hated you. I never really had a reason for hating you I just always did. And there I was making love with my enemy and I just didn't want things to change. Because I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Falling in love with you." As soon as she said it, it was gone. But I heard it and I would never forget it.

She met my eyes and before I knew it, her lips smashed on mine. It was an indescribable feeling, really. To know that the person you're in love with returns you affections. I brushed her hair out of her face. I loved it. Being able to hold her without being scared of rejection. Knowing that she initiated the kiss. I just loved being with her. I pulled back staring into her eyes.

"I love you." She smiled, taking my breath away in the process.

"I love you too." She whispered. "I'm so glad you're okay." I leaned down to kiss her stomach.

" And I'm so glad they're okay."

The door opened interrupting our moment, and bringing in the doctor.

"Are you two ready for the paternity test?" I looked at Thalia. I didn't know about this until now, but I was definitely doing it. I nodded quickly.

"Let's do it." And the smile I put on Thalia's face made me proud because I knew I put it there.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So? How was it? You guys should check out my other story, it's called Exceptions and I just started it a couple days ago. So yeah. I really hope you guys liked this chapter, I don't want to disappoint anyone, and I know you guys wanted my head after that cliffhanger last chapter. Heh. Sorry XD Review for me, it puts smiles on my face!- ShyGal<strong>


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